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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. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  2. He is an ace ________________.
  3. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  4. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  5. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  6. The ________________ took off on time.
  7. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  8. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  9. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  10. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  11. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  12. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  13. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  14. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  15. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  16. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  17. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  18. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  19. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  20. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  21. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  22. False peace will not ________________.
  23. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  24. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!

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

Answer key

  1. band — a ring
  2. pitcher — in baseball
  3. root — of a word
  4. dip — to sink
  5. last — finally
  6. plane — an aircraft
  7. dip — a sauce
  8. patient — calm and waiting
  9. plane — in geometry
  10. band — a rubber band
  11. wax — to grow
  12. band — a music group
  13. dip — to dunk
  14. plane — a tool
  15. pitcher — a jug
  16. pitcher — a jug
  17. patient — a sick person
  18. wax — for sculpting
  19. root — the cause
  20. wax — in the ear
  21. root — of a plant
  22. last — to go on
  23. patient — a sick person
  24. last — final

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