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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 120 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. David sat on the ________________.
  2. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  3. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  4. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  5. The ball is in your ________________.
  6. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  7. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  8. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  9. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  10. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  11. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  12. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  13. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  14. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  15. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  16. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  17. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  18. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  19. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  20. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  21. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  22. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  23. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  24. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. swing — to play on
  2. chest — of your body
  3. prune — to trim
  4. chip — to eat
  5. court — for sport
  6. wax — to grow
  7. chest — of your body
  8. root — the cause
  9. bowl — to roll
  10. court — of a king
  11. wax — in the ear
  12. bowl — a dish
  13. root — of a word
  14. chest — a box
  15. bowl — a football final
  16. chip — in a computer
  17. prune — the fruit
  18. court — of law
  19. wax — for sculpting
  20. root — of a plant
  21. prune — to trim
  22. swing — in golf
  23. chip — for betting
  24. swing — music

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com