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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. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  2. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  3. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  4. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  5. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  6. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  7. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  8. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  9. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  10. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  11. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  12. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  13. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  14. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  15. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  16. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  17. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  18. What do you think of the new ________________?
  19. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  20. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  21. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  22. Did you ________________ the meat?
  23. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  24. We took cover from the thunder ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pit — a hole
  2. season — of the year
  3. shower — to wash
  4. season — in sport
  5. wax — in the ear
  6. root — of a plant
  7. cabinet — ministers
  8. pit — a fruit stone
  9. shower — a meteor shower
  10. root — of a word
  11. rule — a law
  12. wax — for sculpting
  13. pit — in a race
  14. rule — government
  15. rule — to rule out
  16. net — after costs
  17. root — the cause
  18. cabinet — ministers
  19. net — in sport
  20. wax — to grow
  21. cabinet — a cupboard
  22. season — to add flavour
  23. net — for catching
  24. shower — rain

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