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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. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  2. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  3. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  4. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  5. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  6. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  7. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  8. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  9. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  10. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  11. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  12. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  13. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  14. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  15. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  16. It's one o'clock ________________.
  17. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  18. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  19. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  20. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  21. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  22. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  23. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  24. The ball hit the back of the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. net — for catching
  2. row — a quarrel
  3. root — of a word
  4. wax — for sculpting
  5. sharp — clever
  6. sharp — with an edge
  7. firm — decided
  8. net — after costs
  9. row — a line
  10. wax — in the ear
  11. bear — to put up with
  12. wake — before a funeral
  13. firm — steady
  14. wake — to stop sleeping
  15. bear — the animal
  16. sharp — exactly
  17. root — the cause
  18. row — to paddle
  19. firm — a company
  20. root — of a plant
  21. wake — a trail
  22. wax — to grow
  23. bear — the animal
  24. net — in sport

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