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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. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  2. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  3. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  4. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  5. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  6. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  7. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  8. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  9. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  10. The ________________ went through the wall.
  11. He was locked up in a ________________.
  12. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  13. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  14. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  15. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  16. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  17. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  18. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  19. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  20. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  21. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  22. The light ________________ burned out.
  23. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  24. I've got to change the light ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. root — of a word
  2. object — to protest
  3. field — farmland
  4. cell — a phone
  5. field — for sport
  6. object — an aim
  7. nail — for a hammer
  8. wax — in the ear
  9. bulb — of a plant
  10. nail — for a hammer
  11. cell — in a prison
  12. nail — on a finger
  13. wax — to grow
  14. root — of a plant
  15. band — a music group
  16. band — a ring
  17. root — the cause
  18. wax — for sculpting
  19. band — a rubber band
  20. object — a thing
  21. cell — in biology
  22. bulb — for light
  23. field — a subject
  24. bulb — for light

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