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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 potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  2. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  3. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  4. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  5. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  6. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  7. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  8. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  9. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  10. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  11. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  12. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  13. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  14. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  15. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  16. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  17. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  18. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  19. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  20. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  21. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  22. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  23. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  24. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. chip — to eat
  2. club — for golf
  3. wax — for sculpting
  4. dip — a sauce
  5. chip — in a computer
  6. stem — a stem cell
  7. march — the month
  8. stem — to come from
  9. club — for dancing
  10. wax — in the ear
  11. chip — for betting
  12. march — music
  13. trunk — of a car
  14. trunk — of a tree
  15. dip — to dunk
  16. root — the cause
  17. root — of a word
  18. trunk — of an elephant
  19. dip — to sink
  20. root — of a plant
  21. club — a group
  22. march — the month
  23. wax — to grow
  24. stem — of a plant

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