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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. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  2. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  3. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  4. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  5. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  6. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  7. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  8. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  9. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  10. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  11. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  12. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  13. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  14. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  15. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  16. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  17. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  18. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  19. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  20. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  21. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  22. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  23. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  24. The moon will ________________ and wane.

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

Answer key

  1. track — a song
  2. track — a path
  3. wax — in the ear
  4. track — to keep track
  5. root — of a plant
  6. degree — temperature
  7. fine — all right
  8. vault — a safe
  9. fine — high quality
  10. degree — from a university
  11. root — of a word
  12. degree — an amount
  13. drill — the tool
  14. fine — a penalty
  15. trunk — of a car
  16. trunk — of an elephant
  17. root — the cause
  18. drill — a practice
  19. wax — for sculpting
  20. vault — in gymnastics
  21. drill — army training
  22. vault — an arched ceiling
  23. trunk — of a tree
  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