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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. She's very handy with a ________________.
  2. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  3. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  4. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  5. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  6. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  7. When are we going to ________________?
  8. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  9. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  10. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  11. David sat on the ________________.
  12. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  13. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  14. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  15. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  16. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  17. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  18. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  19. He works in a ________________ mill.
  20. It's one o'clock ________________.
  21. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  22. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  23. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  24. He is as ________________ as a wolf.

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

Answer key

  1. saw — the tool
  2. root — of a word
  3. swing — in golf
  4. land — a country
  5. sharp — with an edge
  6. swing — music
  7. land — to come down
  8. saw — past of 'see'
  9. wax — to grow
  10. race — the arms race
  11. swing — to play on
  12. wax — for sculpting
  13. race — humankind
  14. race — a contest
  15. lean — to bend
  16. sharp — clever
  17. root — of a plant
  18. land — ground
  19. saw — the tool
  20. sharp — exactly
  21. root — the cause
  22. lean — to rest against
  23. wax — in the ear
  24. lean — thin

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