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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. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  2. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  3. The light ________________ burned out.
  4. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  5. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  6. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  7. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  8. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  9. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  10. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  11. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  12. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  13. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  14. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  15. I've got to change the light ________________.
  16. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  17. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  18. The ball is in your ________________.
  19. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  20. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  21. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  22. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  23. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  24. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. root — of a plant
  2. wax — for sculpting
  3. bulb — for light
  4. shower — a meteor shower
  5. wax — to grow
  6. root — the cause
  7. court — of law
  8. club — for golf
  9. capital — a big letter
  10. bulb — of a plant
  11. club — a group
  12. capital — a city
  13. capital — money
  14. root — of a word
  15. bulb — for light
  16. wax — in the ear
  17. clip — to cut
  18. court — for sport
  19. shower — rain
  20. court — of a king
  21. clip — for paper
  22. shower — to wash
  23. club — for dancing
  24. clip — a video

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