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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. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  2. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  3. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  4. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  5. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  6. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  7. When was this ________________ built?
  8. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  9. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  10. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  11. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  12. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  13. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  14. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  15. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  16. Don't do anything ________________.
  17. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  18. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  19. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  20. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  21. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  22. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  23. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  24. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.

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

Answer key

  1. wax — to grow
  2. chair — to sit on
  3. root — of a word
  4. content — happy
  5. kid — to tease
  6. root — of a plant
  7. temple — a place of worship
  8. content — the amount
  9. root — the cause
  10. rash — on the skin
  11. chair — a professorship
  12. temple — a place of worship
  13. content — videos and posts
  14. squash — the vegetable
  15. wax — for sculpting
  16. rash — hasty
  17. kid — child
  18. chair — a leader
  19. temple — side of the head
  20. wax — in the ear
  21. squash — the sport
  22. rash — a series
  23. squash — to crush
  24. kid — young goat (kid gloves)

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