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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 124 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. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  2. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  3. Don't do anything ________________.
  4. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  5. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  6. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  7. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  8. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  9. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  10. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  11. The King held a masked ________________.
  12. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  13. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  14. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  15. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  16. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  17. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  18. This piece is in a major ________________.
  19. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  20. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  21. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  22. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  23. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  24. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.

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

Answer key

  1. key — for a lock
  2. bass — the instrument
  3. rash — hasty
  4. kid — child
  5. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  6. wax — for sculpting
  7. ball — a round shape
  8. row — a quarrel
  9. bass — the fish
  10. root — the cause
  11. ball — a dance
  12. ball — a great time
  13. row — a line
  14. kid — to tease
  15. rash — on the skin
  16. wax — to grow
  17. rash — a series
  18. key — in music
  19. bass — low music
  20. key — the most important part
  21. row — to paddle
  22. root — of a plant
  23. wax — in the ear
  24. root — of a word

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