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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. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  2. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  3. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  4. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  5. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  6. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  7. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  8. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  9. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  10. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  11. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  12. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  13. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  14. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  15. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  16. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  17. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  18. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  19. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  20. When was this ________________ built?
  21. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  22. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  23. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  24. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.

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

Answer key

  1. bank — for money
  2. wax — to grow
  3. chest — of your body
  4. root — of a plant
  5. root — of a word
  6. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  7. chest — of your body
  8. kid — child
  9. bank — of a river
  10. chair — a professorship
  11. root — the cause
  12. wax — in the ear
  13. chair — a leader
  14. temple — a place of worship
  15. degree — an amount
  16. wax — for sculpting
  17. degree — temperature
  18. temple — side of the head
  19. bank — for money
  20. temple — a place of worship
  21. kid — to tease
  22. chest — a box
  23. chair — to sit on
  24. degree — from a university

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