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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. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  2. False peace will not ________________.
  3. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  4. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  5. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  6. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  7. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  8. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  9. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  10. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  11. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  12. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  13. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  14. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  15. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  16. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  17. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  18. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  19. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  20. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  21. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  22. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  23. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  24. The old man leaned on his ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. shower — rain
  2. last — to go on
  3. wax — in the ear
  4. mouse — for a computer
  5. root — the cause
  6. shower — a meteor shower
  7. root — of a word
  8. mouse — the animal
  9. mouse — the animal
  10. last — finally
  11. last — final
  12. content — happy
  13. wax — to grow
  14. track — a path
  15. staff — employees
  16. wax — for sculpting
  17. shower — to wash
  18. content — the amount
  19. root — of a plant
  20. staff — employees
  21. content — videos and posts
  22. track — a song
  23. track — to keep track
  24. staff — a stick

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