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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. That must've been a ________________.
  2. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  3. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  4. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  5. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  6. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  7. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  8. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  9. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  10. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  11. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  12. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  13. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  14. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  15. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  16. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  17. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  18. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  19. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  20. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  21. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  22. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  23. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  24. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.

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

Answer key

  1. rush — a thrill
  2. mine — for digging
  3. object — an aim
  4. deal — a big deal
  5. deal — to handle
  6. kid — child
  7. kid — to tease
  8. mine — an explosive
  9. wax — to grow
  10. wax — in the ear
  11. pitch — completely
  12. mine — belonging to me
  13. wax — for sculpting
  14. pitch — a sales talk
  15. pitch — a sports field
  16. object — to protest
  17. object — a thing
  18. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  19. rush — to hurry
  20. rush — hurry
  21. root — the cause
  22. deal — an agreement
  23. root — of a word
  24. root — of a plant

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