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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. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  2. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  3. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  4. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  5. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  6. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  7. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  8. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  9. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  10. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  11. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  12. My father caught me by the ________________.
  13. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  14. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  15. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  16. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  17. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  18. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  19. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  20. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  21. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  22. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  23. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  24. Would you like some apricot ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. root — of a word
  2. arm — part of the body
  3. pit — a hole
  4. jam — in traffic
  5. pass — a permit
  6. wax — in the ear
  7. file — a tool
  8. band — a rubber band
  9. pass — to succeed
  10. band — a ring
  11. root — the cause
  12. arm — part of the body
  13. pass — to spend time
  14. arm — a part of something
  15. file — a document
  16. pit — a fruit stone
  17. band — a music group
  18. wax — for sculpting
  19. pit — in a race
  20. root — of a plant
  21. file — a line of people
  22. jam — a tight spot
  23. wax — to grow
  24. jam — to spread on bread

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