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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. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  2. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  3. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  4. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  5. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  6. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  7. David sat on the ________________.
  8. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  9. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  10. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  11. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  12. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  13. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  14. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  15. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  16. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  17. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  18. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  19. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  20. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  21. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  22. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  23. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  24. When are we going to ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. cap — a lid
  2. land — a country
  3. present — there
  4. wax — for sculpting
  5. squash — the vegetable
  6. present — a gift
  7. swing — to play on
  8. cap — a hat
  9. root — of a plant
  10. root — of a word
  11. swing — in golf
  12. mine — an explosive
  13. root — the cause
  14. swing — music
  15. cap — of ice
  16. mine — belonging to me
  17. wax — in the ear
  18. squash — the sport
  19. wax — to grow
  20. present — the time now
  21. mine — for digging
  22. squash — to crush
  23. land — ground
  24. land — to come down

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