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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 116 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. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  2. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  3. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  4. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  5. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  6. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  7. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  8. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  9. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  10. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  11. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  12. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  13. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  14. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  15. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  16. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  17. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  18. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  19. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  20. When will it ________________ you to start?
  21. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  22. There's no middle ________________.
  23. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  24. The moon will ________________ and wane.

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

Answer key

  1. suit — in cards
  2. spring — the season
  3. spring — of water
  4. wax — for sculpting
  5. club — a group
  6. root — of a word
  7. ground — the earth
  8. hand — in cards
  9. hand — part of the body
  10. wax — in the ear
  11. root — of a plant
  12. ground — crushed
  13. spring — a coil
  14. capital — a city
  15. capital — a big letter
  16. hand — help
  17. capital — money
  18. suit — clothes
  19. club — for dancing
  20. suit — to fit
  21. root — the cause
  22. ground — a position
  23. club — for golf
  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