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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. Where did you ________________ them?
  2. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  3. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  4. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  5. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  6. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  7. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  8. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  9. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  10. This piece is in a major ________________.
  11. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  12. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  13. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  14. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  15. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  16. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  17. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  18. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  19. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  20. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  21. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  22. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  23. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  24. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.

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

Answer key

  1. mug — to rob
  2. wax — in the ear
  3. wax — to grow
  4. root — of a plant
  5. root — the cause
  6. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  7. key — the most important part
  8. file — a tool
  9. cue — a hint
  10. key — in music
  11. kid — child
  12. root — of a word
  13. wax — for sculpting
  14. file — a line of people
  15. mug — a face
  16. degree — an amount
  17. cue — a signal
  18. mug — a cup
  19. degree — from a university
  20. key — for a lock
  21. file — a document
  22. cue — for pool
  23. kid — to tease
  24. degree — temperature

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