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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 ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  2. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  3. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  4. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  5. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  6. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  7. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  8. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  9. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  10. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  11. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  12. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  13. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  14. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  15. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  16. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  17. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  18. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  19. The water is too ________________.
  20. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  21. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  22. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  23. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  24. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — the animal
  2. racket — for tennis
  3. cue — a signal
  4. scale — in music
  5. root — of a plant
  6. scale — size or range
  7. racket — for tennis
  8. scale — for weighing
  9. cue — a hint
  10. wax — for sculpting
  11. foot — part of the body
  12. root — the cause
  13. foot — the bottom
  14. bat — in an idiom
  15. foot — a measure
  16. bat — for baseball
  17. cold — an illness
  18. root — of a word
  19. cold — not warm
  20. wax — in the ear
  21. cold — the Cold War
  22. wax — to grow
  23. racket — a loud noise
  24. cue — for pool

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