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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. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  2. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  3. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  4. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  5. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  6. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  7. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  8. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  9. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  10. There's no middle ________________.
  11. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  12. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  13. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  14. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  15. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  16. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  17. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  18. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  19. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  20. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  21. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  22. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  23. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  24. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.

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

Answer key

  1. mouse — the animal
  2. mouse — for a computer
  3. wax — in the ear
  4. mouse — the animal
  5. jam — a tight spot
  6. wax — for sculpting
  7. root — the cause
  8. wind — to turn a key
  9. jam — in traffic
  10. ground — a position
  11. club — a group
  12. wax — to grow
  13. club — for dancing
  14. march — music
  15. march — the month
  16. ground — the earth
  17. march — the month
  18. root — of a word
  19. club — for golf
  20. wind — moving air
  21. jam — to spread on bread
  22. ground — crushed
  23. wind — moving air
  24. root — of a plant

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