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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 ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  2. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  3. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  4. The tickets are free of ________________.
  5. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  6. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  7. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  8. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  9. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  10. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  11. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  12. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  13. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  14. He is an ace ________________.
  15. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  16. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  17. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  18. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  19. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  20. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  21. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  22. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  23. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  24. It's one o'clock ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. root — of a word
  2. cap — of ice
  3. root — of a plant
  4. charge — a price
  5. pitcher — a jug
  6. wax — for sculpting
  7. sharp — clever
  8. face — to confront
  9. wax — in the ear
  10. tear — from crying
  11. tear — from crying
  12. sharp — with an edge
  13. face — to point toward
  14. pitcher — in baseball
  15. pitcher — a jug
  16. cap — a hat
  17. charge — in control
  18. cap — a lid
  19. charge — electricity
  20. face — part of the head
  21. root — the cause
  22. tear — to rip
  23. wax — to grow
  24. sharp — exactly

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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