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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. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  2. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  3. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  4. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  5. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  6. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  7. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  8. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  9. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  10. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  11. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  12. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  13. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  14. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  15. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  16. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  17. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  18. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  19. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  20. There's no middle ________________.
  21. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  22. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  23. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  24. Did you ________________ the meat?

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

Answer key

  1. wax — to grow
  2. ground — crushed
  3. season — of the year
  4. ground — the earth
  5. pound — a weight
  6. jam — in traffic
  7. leaves — of a tree
  8. wax — in the ear
  9. wax — for sculpting
  10. jam — to spread on bread
  11. root — of a word
  12. hand — in cards
  13. leaves — to go away
  14. root — the cause
  15. pound — to hit hard
  16. pound — for dogs
  17. leaves — lets stay
  18. season — in sport
  19. hand — help
  20. ground — a position
  21. hand — part of the body
  22. jam — a tight spot
  23. root — of a plant
  24. season — to add flavour

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