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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. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  2. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  3. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  4. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  5. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  6. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  7. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  8. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  9. He works in a ________________ mill.
  10. That must've been a ________________.
  11. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  12. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  13. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  14. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  15. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  16. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  17. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  18. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  19. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  20. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  21. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  22. When are we going to ________________?
  23. She's very handy with a ________________.
  24. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — child
  2. wax — in the ear
  3. bank — of a river
  4. capital — a city
  5. capital — money
  6. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  7. wax — for sculpting
  8. bank — for money
  9. saw — the tool
  10. rush — a thrill
  11. wax — to grow
  12. root — of a plant
  13. land — ground
  14. rush — to hurry
  15. capital — a big letter
  16. root — the cause
  17. root — of a word
  18. rush — hurry
  19. bank — for money
  20. land — a country
  21. kid — to tease
  22. land — to come down
  23. saw — the tool
  24. saw — past of 'see'

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