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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. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  2. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  3. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  4. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  5. This piece is in a major ________________.
  6. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  7. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  8. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  9. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  10. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  11. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  12. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  13. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  14. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  15. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  16. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  17. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  18. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  19. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  20. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  21. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  22. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  23. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  24. Boris sat near the fire ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a ring
  2. root — of a word
  3. pit — in a race
  4. wax — for sculpting
  5. key — in music
  6. key — for a lock
  7. field — a subject
  8. key — the most important part
  9. wax — in the ear
  10. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  11. club — for golf
  12. pit — a fruit stone
  13. field — for sport
  14. kid — child
  15. field — farmland
  16. root — of a plant
  17. wax — to grow
  18. kid — to tease
  19. root — the cause
  20. band — a music group
  21. club — for dancing
  22. club — a group
  23. band — a rubber band
  24. pit — a hole

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