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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. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  2. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  3. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  4. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  5. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  6. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  7. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  8. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  9. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  10. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  11. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  12. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  13. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  14. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  15. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  16. He was locked up in a ________________.
  17. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  18. You don't need to ________________ round.
  19. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  20. We're almost out of ________________.
  21. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  22. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  23. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  24. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.

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

Answer key

  1. root — of a word
  2. bowl — a dish
  3. bowl — a football final
  4. march — music
  5. vault — an arched ceiling
  6. root — the cause
  7. pop — music
  8. vault — in gymnastics
  9. wax — for sculpting
  10. wax — to grow
  11. bowl — to roll
  12. cell — in biology
  13. vault — a safe
  14. wake — before a funeral
  15. wax — in the ear
  16. cell — in a prison
  17. cell — a phone
  18. pop — to visit
  19. root — of a plant
  20. pop — soda
  21. march — the month
  22. wake — to stop sleeping
  23. march — the month
  24. wake — a trail

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