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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 museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  2. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  3. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  4. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  5. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  6. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  7. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  8. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  9. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  10. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  11. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  12. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  13. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  14. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  15. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  16. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  17. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  18. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  19. He is an ace ________________.
  20. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  21. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  22. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  23. Don't do anything ________________.
  24. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.

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

Answer key

  1. wax — for sculpting
  2. dip — a sauce
  3. hand — help
  4. root — of a word
  5. pitcher — a jug
  6. wax — to grow
  7. present — there
  8. present — the time now
  9. root — of a plant
  10. hand — in cards
  11. file — a line of people
  12. root — the cause
  13. file — a document
  14. present — a gift
  15. pitcher — a jug
  16. rash — on the skin
  17. dip — to sink
  18. hand — part of the body
  19. pitcher — in baseball
  20. file — a tool
  21. rash — a series
  22. wax — in the ear
  23. rash — hasty
  24. dip — to dunk

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