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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 moon will ________________ and wane.
  2. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  3. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  4. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  5. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  6. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  7. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  8. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  9. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  10. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  11. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  12. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  13. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  14. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  15. It's one o'clock ________________.
  16. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  17. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  18. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  19. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  20. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  21. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  22. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  23. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  24. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.

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

Answer key

  1. wax — to grow
  2. racket — for tennis
  3. root — of a word
  4. wax — for sculpting
  5. field — a subject
  6. board — to get on
  7. board — a flat piece
  8. sharp — clever
  9. cue — a signal
  10. cue — a hint
  11. field — for sport
  12. sharp — with an edge
  13. cue — for pool
  14. degree — an amount
  15. sharp — exactly
  16. board — a committee
  17. field — farmland
  18. racket — a loud noise
  19. racket — for tennis
  20. wax — in the ear
  21. root — of a plant
  22. degree — from a university
  23. degree — temperature
  24. root — the cause

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