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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. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  2. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  3. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  4. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  5. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  6. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  7. Have you found your soul ________________?
  8. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  9. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  10. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  11. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  12. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  13. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  14. When are we going to ________________?
  15. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  16. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  17. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  18. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  19. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  20. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  21. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  22. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  23. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  24. The moon will ________________ and wane.

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

Answer key

  1. fan — a supporter
  2. land — a country
  3. mate — a friend
  4. root — of a word
  5. fan — to cool the air
  6. wax — in the ear
  7. mate — a partner
  8. land — ground
  9. bark — a dog's sound
  10. fall — to drop
  11. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  12. bark — to shout
  13. wax — for sculpting
  14. land — to come down
  15. fan — a supporter
  16. fall — to drop
  17. fall — the season
  18. mate — to breed
  19. kid — to tease
  20. root — of a plant
  21. kid — child
  22. bark — of a tree
  23. root — the cause
  24. wax — to grow

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