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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.

Words on the sheet
468
Word bank
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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 King held a masked ________________.
  2. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  3. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  4. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  5. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  6. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  7. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  8. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  9. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  10. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  11. The water is too ________________.
  12. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  13. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  14. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  15. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  16. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  17. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  18. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  19. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  20. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  21. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  22. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  23. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  24. He was locked up in a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. ball — a dance
  2. wax — to grow
  3. ball — a round shape
  4. stick — to attach or keep to
  5. stick — a piece of wood
  6. craft — a handicraft
  7. craft — a skill
  8. bat — in an idiom
  9. root — of a word
  10. cold — an illness
  11. cold — not warm
  12. bat — the animal
  13. bat — for baseball
  14. root — of a plant
  15. wax — for sculpting
  16. ball — a great time
  17. stick — a piece of wood
  18. cell — a phone
  19. wax — in the ear
  20. root — the cause
  21. cold — the Cold War
  22. cell — in biology
  23. craft — boats
  24. cell — in a prison

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