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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. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  2. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  3. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  4. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  5. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  6. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  7. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  8. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  9. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  10. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  11. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  12. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  13. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  14. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  15. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  16. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  17. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  18. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  19. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  20. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  21. I'll be taking the ________________.
  22. The water is too ________________.
  23. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  24. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.

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

Answer key

  1. wax — for sculpting
  2. root — of a word
  3. wax — to grow
  4. tube — a container
  5. cold — an illness
  6. bark — to shout
  7. deal — an agreement
  8. cap — of ice
  9. branch — of a bank
  10. bark — of a tree
  11. bark — a dog's sound
  12. branch — a division
  13. branch — of a tree
  14. root — of a plant
  15. deal — a big deal
  16. cold — the Cold War
  17. deal — to handle
  18. root — the cause
  19. tube — in a tire
  20. wax — in the ear
  21. tube — the underground
  22. cold — not warm
  23. cap — a lid
  24. cap — a hat

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