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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. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  2. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  3. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  4. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  5. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  6. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  7. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  8. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  9. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  10. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  11. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  12. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  13. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  14. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  15. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  16. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  17. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  18. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  19. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  20. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  21. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  22. False peace will not ________________.
  23. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  24. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.

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

Answer key

  1. wax — in the ear
  2. last — final
  3. fork — to eat with
  4. root — of a word
  5. wax — to grow
  6. fork — in a road
  7. foot — part of the body
  8. current — of water
  9. foot — the bottom
  10. last — finally
  11. chest — of your body
  12. current — electric
  13. foot — a measure
  14. root — the cause
  15. bat — for baseball
  16. root — of a plant
  17. bat — the animal
  18. chest — of your body
  19. chest — a box
  20. current — happening now
  21. wax — for sculpting
  22. last — to go on
  23. fork — a garden tool
  24. bat — in an idiom

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