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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 120 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 got dealt a bad ________________.
  2. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  3. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  4. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  5. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  6. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  7. There's no middle ________________.
  8. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  9. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  10. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  11. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  12. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  13. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  14. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  15. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  16. What do you think of the new ________________?
  17. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  18. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  19. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  20. She's very handy with a ________________.
  21. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  22. He works in a ________________ mill.
  23. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  24. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!

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

Answer key

  1. hand — in cards
  2. root — of a word
  3. wax — to grow
  4. ground — crushed
  5. hand — help
  6. root — the cause
  7. ground — a position
  8. wax — for sculpting
  9. root — of a plant
  10. row — to paddle
  11. cabinet — a cupboard
  12. hand — part of the body
  13. saw — past of 'see'
  14. ground — the earth
  15. cabinet — ministers
  16. cabinet — ministers
  17. row — a quarrel
  18. row — a line
  19. bear — the animal
  20. saw — the tool
  21. bear — the animal
  22. saw — the tool
  23. wax — in the ear
  24. bear — to put up with

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