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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. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  2. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  3. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  4. Don't do anything ________________.
  5. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  6. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  7. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  8. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  9. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  10. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  11. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  12. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  13. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  14. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  15. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  16. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  17. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  18. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  19. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  20. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  21. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  22. How do you ________________ your surname?
  23. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  24. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.

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

Answer key

  1. wax — in the ear
  2. wax — to grow
  3. wound — past of 'wind'
  4. rash — hasty
  5. root — of a word
  6. rash — a series
  7. wound — an injury
  8. root — the cause
  9. object — to protest
  10. current — happening now
  11. rash — on the skin
  12. drill — a practice
  13. current — of water
  14. object — an aim
  15. wound — an injury
  16. wax — for sculpting
  17. current — electric
  18. spell — magic
  19. spell — a short time
  20. object — a thing
  21. drill — the tool
  22. spell — letters
  23. root — of a plant
  24. drill — army training

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