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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 120 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. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  3. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  4. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  5. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  6. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  7. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  8. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  9. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  10. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  11. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  12. False peace will not ________________.
  13. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  14. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  15. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  16. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  17. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  18. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  19. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  20. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  21. What do you think of the new ________________?
  22. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  23. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  24. Biology is a ________________ of science.

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

Answer key

  1. wax — for sculpting
  2. kid — to tease
  3. root — of a plant
  4. spring — a coil
  5. cap — a hat
  6. spring — the season
  7. last — finally
  8. wax — to grow
  9. cabinet — a cupboard
  10. last — final
  11. branch — of a tree
  12. last — to go on
  13. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  14. kid — child
  15. cap — of ice
  16. wax — in the ear
  17. root — of a word
  18. cabinet — ministers
  19. cap — a lid
  20. root — the cause
  21. cabinet — ministers
  22. branch — of a bank
  23. spring — of water
  24. branch — a division

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