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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. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  2. The tickets are free of ________________.
  3. The light ________________ burned out.
  4. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  5. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  6. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  7. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  8. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  9. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  10. The ball is in your ________________.
  11. It's one o'clock ________________.
  12. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  13. I've got to change the light ________________.
  14. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  15. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  16. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  17. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  18. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  19. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  20. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  21. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  22. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  23. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  24. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. perch — the fish
  2. charge — a price
  3. bulb — for light
  4. wax — for sculpting
  5. charge — electricity
  6. root — of a plant
  7. wax — in the ear
  8. club — a group
  9. sharp — with an edge
  10. court — for sport
  11. sharp — exactly
  12. root — of a word
  13. bulb — for light
  14. court — of law
  15. bulb — of a plant
  16. perch — for a bird
  17. wax — to grow
  18. root — the cause
  19. perch — for a bird
  20. sharp — clever
  21. club — for dancing
  22. charge — in control
  23. court — of a king
  24. club — for golf

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