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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. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  2. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  3. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  4. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  5. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  6. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  7. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  8. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  9. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  10. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  11. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  12. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  13. That was a fun ________________.
  14. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  15. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  16. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  17. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  18. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  19. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  20. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  21. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  22. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  23. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  24. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.

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

Answer key

  1. club — a group
  2. squash — the vegetable
  3. trunk — of an elephant
  4. squash — to crush
  5. perch — the fish
  6. root — of a word
  7. root — the cause
  8. wax — to grow
  9. band — a ring
  10. club — for dancing
  11. wax — for sculpting
  12. perch — for a bird
  13. game — a match
  14. root — of a plant
  15. club — for golf
  16. squash — the sport
  17. wax — in the ear
  18. game — wild animals
  19. perch — for a bird
  20. band — a music group
  21. band — a rubber band
  22. trunk — of a tree
  23. trunk — of a car
  24. game — a kind of play

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