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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. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  2. The ball is in your ________________.
  3. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  4. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  5. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  6. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  7. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  8. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  9. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  10. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  11. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  12. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  13. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  14. My father caught me by the ________________.
  15. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  16. When are we going to ________________?
  17. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  18. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  19. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  20. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  21. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  22. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  23. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  24. She's sitting on a gold ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — an explosive
  2. court — for sport
  3. wax — to grow
  4. arm — part of the body
  5. wax — for sculpting
  6. wax — in the ear
  7. land — ground
  8. court — of law
  9. mine — belonging to me
  10. land — a country
  11. root — the cause
  12. bass — low music
  13. court — of a king
  14. arm — part of the body
  15. root — of a plant
  16. land — to come down
  17. pound — to hit hard
  18. root — of a word
  19. pound — for dogs
  20. arm — a part of something
  21. bass — the instrument
  22. pound — a weight
  23. bass — the fish
  24. mine — for digging

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