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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. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  2. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  3. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  4. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  5. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  6. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  7. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  8. You don't need to ________________ round.
  9. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  10. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  11. The ball is in your ________________.
  12. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  13. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  14. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  15. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  16. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  17. We're almost out of ________________.
  18. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  19. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  20. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  21. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  22. The King held a masked ________________.
  23. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  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. pop — music
  2. chair — to sit on
  3. wax — in the ear
  4. dip — to sink
  5. ball — a great time
  6. dip — to dunk
  7. ball — a round shape
  8. pop — to visit
  9. chair — a leader
  10. capital — a big letter
  11. court — for sport
  12. root — the cause
  13. chair — a professorship
  14. capital — money
  15. court — of a king
  16. capital — a city
  17. pop — soda
  18. wax — for sculpting
  19. wax — to grow
  20. dip — a sauce
  21. root — of a word
  22. ball — a dance
  23. court — of law
  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