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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 ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  2. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  3. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  4. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  5. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  6. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  7. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  8. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  9. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  10. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  11. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  12. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  13. The ball is in your ________________.
  14. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  15. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  16. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  17. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  18. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  19. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  20. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  21. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  22. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  23. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  24. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.

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

Answer key

  1. root — of a word
  2. tear — from crying
  3. wax — to grow
  4. fan — to cool the air
  5. band — a music group
  6. court — of a king
  7. root — the cause
  8. club — for golf
  9. rule — a law
  10. rule — government
  11. fan — a supporter
  12. root — of a plant
  13. court — for sport
  14. club — a group
  15. court — of law
  16. band — a ring
  17. wax — in the ear
  18. wax — for sculpting
  19. band — a rubber band
  20. tear — from crying
  21. rule — to rule out
  22. fan — a supporter
  23. tear — to rip
  24. club — for dancing

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