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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. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  2. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  3. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  4. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  5. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  6. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  7. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  8. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  9. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  10. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  11. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  12. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  13. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  14. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  15. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  16. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  17. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  18. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  19. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  20. He was locked up in a ________________.
  21. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  22. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  23. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  24. This looks like a gunshot ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wax — in the ear
  2. file — a document
  3. root — of a plant
  4. hand — part of the body
  5. cell — in biology
  6. file — a line of people
  7. mine — for digging
  8. mine — an explosive
  9. present — there
  10. wound — an injury
  11. wax — to grow
  12. wax — for sculpting
  13. present — a gift
  14. wound — past of 'wind'
  15. root — of a word
  16. present — the time now
  17. cell — a phone
  18. root — the cause
  19. hand — in cards
  20. cell — in a prison
  21. mine — belonging to me
  22. file — a tool
  23. hand — help
  24. wound — an injury

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