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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. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  2. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  3. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  4. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  5. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  6. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  7. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  8. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  9. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  10. Don't do anything ________________.
  11. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  12. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  13. How do you ________________ your surname?
  14. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  15. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  16. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  17. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  18. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  19. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  20. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  21. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  22. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  23. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  24. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.

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

Answer key

  1. board — a committee
  2. wax — in the ear
  3. rash — a series
  4. root — of a word
  5. march — the month
  6. root — of a plant
  7. spell — magic
  8. root — the cause
  9. object — to protest
  10. rash — hasty
  11. wax — to grow
  12. march — the month
  13. spell — letters
  14. rash — on the skin
  15. board — to get on
  16. object — an aim
  17. file — a line of people
  18. object — a thing
  19. board — a flat piece
  20. march — music
  21. file — a tool
  22. wax — for sculpting
  23. spell — a short time
  24. file — a document

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