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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. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  2. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  3. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  4. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  5. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  6. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  7. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  8. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  9. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  10. Don't do anything ________________.
  11. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  12. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  13. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  14. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  15. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  16. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  17. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  18. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  19. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  20. The ball is in your ________________.
  21. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  22. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  23. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  24. The flowers bloom in the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. scale — size or range
  2. court — of law
  3. root — the cause
  4. court — of a king
  5. tear — to rip
  6. wake — to stop sleeping
  7. scale — for weighing
  8. wake — before a funeral
  9. wax — for sculpting
  10. rash — hasty
  11. scale — in music
  12. spring — a coil
  13. tear — from crying
  14. tear — from crying
  15. spring — of water
  16. wax — in the ear
  17. root — of a plant
  18. wake — a trail
  19. wax — to grow
  20. court — for sport
  21. rash — on the skin
  22. rash — a series
  23. root — of a word
  24. spring — the season

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