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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. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  2. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  3. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  4. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  5. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  6. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  7. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  8. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  9. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  10. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  11. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  12. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  13. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  14. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  15. When will it ________________ you to start?
  16. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  17. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  18. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  19. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  20. The ball is in your ________________.
  21. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  22. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  23. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  24. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.

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

Answer key

  1. net — after costs
  2. lean — to bend
  3. perch — for a bird
  4. court — of a king
  5. root — of a plant
  6. wax — to grow
  7. wax — for sculpting
  8. lean — to rest against
  9. root — of a word
  10. suit — in cards
  11. suit — clothes
  12. lean — thin
  13. court — of law
  14. root — the cause
  15. suit — to fit
  16. tear — from crying
  17. perch — the fish
  18. tear — to rip
  19. net — in sport
  20. court — for sport
  21. wax — in the ear
  22. net — for catching
  23. perch — for a bird
  24. tear — from crying

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