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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. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  2. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  3. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  4. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  5. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  6. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  7. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  8. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  9. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  10. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  11. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  12. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  13. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  14. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  15. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  16. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  17. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  18. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  19. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  20. My mare is ________________ in color.
  21. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  22. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  23. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  24. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. root — the cause
  2. mine — belonging to me
  3. capital — a big letter
  4. wax — in the ear
  5. march — the month
  6. mark — to pay attention
  7. wax — for sculpting
  8. root — of a plant
  9. mine — an explosive
  10. capital — money
  11. row — a line
  12. march — the month
  13. row — a quarrel
  14. bay — to keep at bay
  15. mark — a grade
  16. march — music
  17. wax — to grow
  18. capital — a city
  19. row — to paddle
  20. bay — a horse colour
  21. root — of a word
  22. mark — a trace
  23. mine — for digging
  24. bay — a part of the sea

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