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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 band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  2. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  3. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  4. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  5. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  6. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  7. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  8. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  9. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  10. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  11. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  12. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  13. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  14. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  15. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  16. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  17. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  18. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  19. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  20. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  21. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  22. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  23. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  24. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. march — music
  2. mouse — the animal
  3. root — the cause
  4. racket — for tennis
  5. march — the month
  6. kid — child
  7. mouse — for a computer
  8. racket — a loud noise
  9. wax — to grow
  10. stem — of a plant
  11. root — of a plant
  12. stem — to come from
  13. wax — for sculpting
  14. band — a ring
  15. march — the month
  16. racket — for tennis
  17. mouse — the animal
  18. kid — to tease
  19. stem — a stem cell
  20. root — of a word
  21. band — a music group
  22. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  23. band — a rubber band
  24. wax — in the ear

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