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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. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  2. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  3. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  4. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  5. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  6. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  7. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  8. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  9. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  10. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  11. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  12. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  13. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  14. Did you ________________ the meat?
  15. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  16. That was ________________ to happen.
  17. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  18. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  19. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  20. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  21. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  22. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  23. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  24. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.

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

Answer key

  1. root — of a word
  2. wound — an injury
  3. wax — to grow
  4. vault — an arched ceiling
  5. prune — to trim
  6. root — the cause
  7. wax — for sculpting
  8. wax — in the ear
  9. prune — to trim
  10. bowl — to roll
  11. vault — a safe
  12. season — of the year
  13. bound — tied together
  14. season — to add flavour
  15. bound — obliged
  16. bound — certain
  17. root — of a plant
  18. vault — in gymnastics
  19. season — in sport
  20. wound — past of 'wind'
  21. bowl — a dish
  22. wound — an injury
  23. prune — the fruit
  24. bowl — a football final

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