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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. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  2. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  3. That must've been a ________________.
  4. The King held a masked ________________.
  5. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  6. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  7. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  8. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  9. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  10. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  11. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  12. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  13. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  14. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  15. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  16. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  17. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  18. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  19. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  20. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  21. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  22. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  23. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  24. He was blown up by a land ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — for digging
  2. march — the month
  3. rush — a thrill
  4. ball — a dance
  5. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  6. lean — to bend
  7. rush — hurry
  8. ball — a great time
  9. lean — thin
  10. march — the month
  11. rush — to hurry
  12. ball — a round shape
  13. wax — in the ear
  14. kid — child
  15. wax — for sculpting
  16. march — music
  17. lean — to rest against
  18. wax — to grow
  19. root — of a word
  20. root — of a plant
  21. mine — belonging to me
  22. kid — to tease
  23. root — the cause
  24. mine — an explosive

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