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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. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  2. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  3. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  4. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  5. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  6. We're almost out of ________________.
  7. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  8. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  9. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  10. It's one o'clock ________________.
  11. Don't do anything ________________.
  12. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  13. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  14. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  15. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  16. You don't need to ________________ round.
  17. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  18. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  19. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  20. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  21. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  22. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  23. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  24. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.

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

Answer key

  1. can — a tin
  2. rash — on the skin
  3. root — the cause
  4. bat — for baseball
  5. chair — a leader
  6. pop — soda
  7. wax — in the ear
  8. can — a tin
  9. bat — in an idiom
  10. sharp — exactly
  11. rash — hasty
  12. wax — for sculpting
  13. pop — music
  14. bat — the animal
  15. wax — to grow
  16. pop — to visit
  17. can — to be able to
  18. sharp — clever
  19. root — of a word
  20. chair — to sit on
  21. chair — a professorship
  22. sharp — with an edge
  23. root — of a plant
  24. rash — a series

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