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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 museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  2. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  3. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  4. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  5. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  6. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  7. He is an ace ________________.
  8. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  9. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  10. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  11. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  12. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  13. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  14. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  15. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  16. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  17. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  18. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  19. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  20. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  21. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  22. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  23. Where did you ________________ them?
  24. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.

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

Answer key

  1. wax — for sculpting
  2. root — of a plant
  3. wax — to grow
  4. mug — a face
  5. root — of a word
  6. deal — a big deal
  7. pitcher — in baseball
  8. net — in sport
  9. pitcher — a jug
  10. rock — music
  11. net — after costs
  12. wax — in the ear
  13. rock — a stone
  14. deal — an agreement
  15. bark — to shout
  16. net — for catching
  17. mug — a cup
  18. deal — to handle
  19. bark — of a tree
  20. pitcher — a jug
  21. root — the cause
  22. rock — to move gently
  23. mug — to rob
  24. bark — a dog's sound

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