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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. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  2. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  3. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  4. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  5. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  6. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  7. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  8. He was locked up in a ________________.
  9. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  10. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  11. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  12. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  13. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  14. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  15. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  16. The ball is in your ________________.
  17. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  18. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  19. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  20. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  21. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  22. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  23. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  24. When are we going to ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. cell — a phone
  2. pound — a weight
  3. land — a country
  4. track — a path
  5. pound — to hit hard
  6. wax — to grow
  7. track — a song
  8. cell — in a prison
  9. land — ground
  10. root — the cause
  11. wound — past of 'wind'
  12. wax — for sculpting
  13. wax — in the ear
  14. root — of a plant
  15. root — of a word
  16. court — for sport
  17. pound — for dogs
  18. cell — in biology
  19. wound — an injury
  20. court — of a king
  21. court — of law
  22. track — to keep track
  23. wound — an injury
  24. land — to come down

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