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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 124 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. When are we going to ________________?
  2. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  3. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  4. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  5. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  6. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  7. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  8. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  9. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  10. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  11. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  12. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  13. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  14. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  15. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  16. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  17. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  18. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  19. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  20. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  21. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  22. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  23. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  24. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.

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

Answer key

  1. land — to come down
  2. wax — for sculpting
  3. chair — a leader
  4. lean — to bend
  5. can — a tin
  6. racket — a loud noise
  7. chair — to sit on
  8. lean — to rest against
  9. racket — for tennis
  10. wind — moving air
  11. wind — moving air
  12. wax — in the ear
  13. wax — to grow
  14. can — to be able to
  15. racket — for tennis
  16. land — a country
  17. land — ground
  18. root — of a plant
  19. can — a tin
  20. root — of a word
  21. chair — a professorship
  22. root — the cause
  23. lean — thin
  24. wind — to turn a key

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