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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 museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  2. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  3. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  4. How do you ________________ your surname?
  5. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  6. Did you ________________ the meat?
  7. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  8. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  9. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  10. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  11. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  12. My father caught me by the ________________.
  13. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  14. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  15. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  16. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  17. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  18. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  19. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  20. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  21. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  22. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  23. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  24. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.

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

Answer key

  1. wax — for sculpting
  2. root — of a word
  3. drill — a practice
  4. spell — letters
  5. arm — part of the body
  6. season — to add flavour
  7. band — a music group
  8. spell — a short time
  9. band — a rubber band
  10. arm — a part of something
  11. drill — army training
  12. arm — part of the body
  13. safe — out of danger
  14. safe — out of danger
  15. safe — a strongbox
  16. wax — to grow
  17. season — of the year
  18. spell — magic
  19. season — in sport
  20. root — of a plant
  21. root — the cause
  22. band — a ring
  23. wax — in the ear
  24. drill — the tool

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