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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. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  2. We're almost out of ________________.
  3. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  4. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  5. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  6. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  7. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  8. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  9. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  10. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  11. You don't need to ________________ round.
  12. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  13. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  14. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  15. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  16. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  17. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  18. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  19. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  20. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  21. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  22. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  23. David sat on the ________________.
  24. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.

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

Answer key

  1. rest — a break
  2. pop — soda
  3. pop — music
  4. field — farmland
  5. swing — music
  6. wax — for sculpting
  7. root — of a plant
  8. chair — a leader
  9. chair — to sit on
  10. wax — to grow
  11. pop — to visit
  12. rest — what's left
  13. chair — a professorship
  14. wax — in the ear
  15. mark — to pay attention
  16. root — of a word
  17. swing — in golf
  18. root — the cause
  19. mark — a trace
  20. field — a subject
  21. field — for sport
  22. mark — a grade
  23. swing — to play on
  24. rest — what's left

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