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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 potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  2. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  3. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  4. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  5. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  6. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  7. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  8. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  9. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  10. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  11. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  12. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  13. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  14. Don't do anything ________________.
  15. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  16. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  17. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  18. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  19. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  20. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  21. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  22. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  23. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  24. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?

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

Answer key

  1. chip — to eat
  2. rash — on the skin
  3. prune — to trim
  4. prune — the fruit
  5. root — of a word
  6. march — the month
  7. wax — in the ear
  8. rash — a series
  9. chip — in a computer
  10. fan — a supporter
  11. fan — to cool the air
  12. root — the cause
  13. march — music
  14. rash — hasty
  15. march — the month
  16. wax — to grow
  17. prune — to trim
  18. wax — for sculpting
  19. wind — moving air
  20. wind — to turn a key
  21. wind — moving air
  22. root — of a plant
  23. chip — for betting
  24. fan — a supporter

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