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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. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  2. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  3. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  4. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  5. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  6. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  7. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  8. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  9. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  10. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  11. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  12. David sat on the ________________.
  13. The King held a masked ________________.
  14. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  15. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  16. The water is too ________________.
  17. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  18. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  19. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  20. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  21. There's no middle ________________.
  22. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  23. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  24. The kitten curled into a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. root — of a plant
  2. ground — crushed
  3. racket — a loud noise
  4. racket — for tennis
  5. wax — to grow
  6. swing — in golf
  7. root — the cause
  8. ground — the earth
  9. ball — a great time
  10. squash — the sport
  11. squash — to crush
  12. swing — to play on
  13. ball — a dance
  14. wax — for sculpting
  15. squash — the vegetable
  16. cold — not warm
  17. cold — an illness
  18. wax — in the ear
  19. root — of a word
  20. swing — music
  21. ground — a position
  22. racket — for tennis
  23. cold — the Cold War
  24. ball — a round shape

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