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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. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  2. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  3. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  4. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  5. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  6. The King held a masked ________________.
  7. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  8. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  9. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  10. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  11. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  12. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  13. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  14. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  15. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  16. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  17. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  18. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  19. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  20. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  21. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  22. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  23. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  24. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.

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

Answer key

  1. fine — a penalty
  2. wax — to grow
  3. ball — a round shape
  4. march — the month
  5. stem — of a plant
  6. ball — a dance
  7. stem — a stem cell
  8. root — of a word
  9. board — to get on
  10. root — of a plant
  11. wind — moving air
  12. wind — moving air
  13. board — a committee
  14. root — the cause
  15. stem — to come from
  16. fine — all right
  17. march — the month
  18. wax — in the ear
  19. board — a flat piece
  20. wind — to turn a key
  21. ball — a great time
  22. fine — high quality
  23. wax — for sculpting
  24. march — music

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