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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 120 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's quite ________________, isn't he?
  2. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  3. Where did you ________________ them?
  4. That must've been a ________________.
  5. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  6. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  7. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  8. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  9. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  10. It's one o'clock ________________.
  11. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  12. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  13. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  14. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  15. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  16. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  17. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  18. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  19. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  20. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  21. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  22. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  23. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  24. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.

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

Answer key

  1. sharp — clever
  2. wax — to grow
  3. mug — to rob
  4. rush — a thrill
  5. scale — in music
  6. root — of a word
  7. bear — the animal
  8. rush — to hurry
  9. root — of a plant
  10. sharp — exactly
  11. sharp — with an edge
  12. scale — for weighing
  13. scale — size or range
  14. bear — the animal
  15. wax — for sculpting
  16. bear — to put up with
  17. stem — a stem cell
  18. stem — of a plant
  19. mug — a cup
  20. mug — a face
  21. rush — hurry
  22. stem — to come from
  23. wax — in the ear
  24. root — the cause

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