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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 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  2. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  3. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  4. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  5. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  6. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  7. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  8. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  9. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  10. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  11. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  12. David sat on the ________________.
  13. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  14. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  15. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  16. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  17. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  18. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  19. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  20. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  21. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  22. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  23. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  24. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.

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

Answer key

  1. root — of a word
  2. wax — in the ear
  3. deal — to handle
  4. deal — a big deal
  5. bank — for money
  6. swing — music
  7. clip — to cut
  8. hand — help
  9. squash — to crush
  10. clip — for paper
  11. hand — in cards
  12. swing — to play on
  13. root — of a plant
  14. deal — an agreement
  15. root — the cause
  16. squash — the sport
  17. hand — part of the body
  18. wax — for sculpting
  19. wax — to grow
  20. bank — for money
  21. swing — in golf
  22. clip — a video
  23. bank — of a river
  24. squash — the vegetable

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