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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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468
Word bank
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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. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  2. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  3. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  4. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  5. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  6. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  7. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  8. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  9. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  10. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  11. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  12. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  13. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  14. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  15. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  16. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  17. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  18. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  19. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  20. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  21. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  22. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  23. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  24. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.

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

Answer key

  1. root — the cause
  2. wax — to grow
  3. racket — a loud noise
  4. capital — a big letter
  5. kid — to tease
  6. file — a document
  7. kid — child
  8. file — a tool
  9. vault — a safe
  10. root — of a word
  11. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  12. vault — in gymnastics
  13. wax — in the ear
  14. capital — a city
  15. wax — for sculpting
  16. racket — for tennis
  17. wound — an injury
  18. vault — an arched ceiling
  19. wound — an injury
  20. capital — money
  21. wound — past of 'wind'
  22. root — of a plant
  23. file — a line of people
  24. racket — for tennis

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