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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. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  2. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  3. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  4. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  5. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  6. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  7. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  8. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  9. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  10. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  11. Don't do anything ________________.
  12. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  13. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  14. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  15. That was a fun ________________.
  16. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  17. Did you ________________ the meat?
  18. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  19. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  20. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  21. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  22. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  23. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  24. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. season — of the year
  2. drill — the tool
  3. root — the cause
  4. fine — high quality
  5. root — of a word
  6. rest — what's left
  7. fine — a penalty
  8. game — wild animals
  9. wax — for sculpting
  10. drill — army training
  11. rash — hasty
  12. drill — a practice
  13. game — a kind of play
  14. season — in sport
  15. game — a match
  16. rash — on the skin
  17. season — to add flavour
  18. root — of a plant
  19. fine — all right
  20. rest — what's left
  21. rest — a break
  22. wax — to grow
  23. rash — a series
  24. wax — in the ear

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