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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. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  2. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  3. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  4. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  5. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  6. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  7. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  8. How do you ________________ your surname?
  9. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  10. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  11. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  12. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  13. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  14. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  15. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  16. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  17. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  18. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  19. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  20. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  21. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  22. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  23. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  24. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.

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

Answer key

  1. rock — music
  2. wax — to grow
  3. lash — to lash out
  4. wax — in the ear
  5. clip — for paper
  6. kid — child
  7. rock — to move gently
  8. spell — letters
  9. kid — to tease
  10. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  11. spell — a short time
  12. spell — magic
  13. current — happening now
  14. current — electric
  15. root — of a word
  16. root — of a plant
  17. current — of water
  18. wax — for sculpting
  19. clip — to cut
  20. lash — an eyelash
  21. clip — a video
  22. rock — a stone
  23. lash — a whip stroke
  24. root — the cause

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