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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 116 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. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  2. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  3. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  4. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  5. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  6. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  7. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  8. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  9. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  10. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  11. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  12. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  13. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  14. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  15. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  16. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  17. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  18. When are we going to ________________?
  19. It's one o'clock ________________.
  20. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  21. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  22. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  23. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  24. This knife is not ________________ enough.

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

Answer key

  1. land — ground
  2. fork — a garden tool
  3. wax — in the ear
  4. club — for dancing
  5. sharp — clever
  6. club — for golf
  7. land — a country
  8. root — of a plant
  9. mark — to pay attention
  10. root — the cause
  11. wax — for sculpting
  12. club — a group
  13. mark — a trace
  14. scale — for weighing
  15. mark — a grade
  16. fork — in a road
  17. scale — in music
  18. land — to come down
  19. sharp — exactly
  20. root — of a word
  21. scale — size or range
  22. fork — to eat with
  23. wax — to grow
  24. sharp — with an edge

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