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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. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  2. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  3. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  4. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  5. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  6. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  7. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  8. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  9. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  10. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  11. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  12. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  13. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  14. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  15. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  16. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  17. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  18. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  19. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  20. That was a fun ________________.
  21. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  22. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  23. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  24. ________________ you help me carry this box?

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

Answer key

  1. root — of a word
  2. wax — for sculpting
  3. can — a tin
  4. game — wild animals
  5. stem — of a plant
  6. game — a kind of play
  7. stem — a stem cell
  8. pound — a weight
  9. face — part of the head
  10. root — the cause
  11. file — a line of people
  12. wax — in the ear
  13. stem — to come from
  14. can — a tin
  15. pound — to hit hard
  16. face — to confront
  17. root — of a plant
  18. pound — for dogs
  19. file — a tool
  20. game — a match
  21. wax — to grow
  22. file — a document
  23. face — to point toward
  24. can — to be able to

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