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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 116 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. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  2. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  3. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  4. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  5. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  6. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  7. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  8. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  9. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  10. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  11. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  12. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  13. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  14. The water is too ________________.
  15. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  16. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  17. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  18. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  19. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  20. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  21. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  22. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  23. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  24. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — for digging
  2. dip — a sauce
  3. wax — in the ear
  4. root — of a plant
  5. root — the cause
  6. cold — an illness
  7. dip — to dunk
  8. can — a tin
  9. cold — the Cold War
  10. rule — to rule out
  11. rule — a law
  12. can — a tin
  13. root — of a word
  14. cold — not warm
  15. mine — an explosive
  16. wax — to grow
  17. content — happy
  18. content — the amount
  19. can — to be able to
  20. rule — government
  21. mine — belonging to me
  22. dip — to sink
  23. wax — for sculpting
  24. content — videos and posts

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