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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 moon will ________________ and wane.
  2. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  3. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  4. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  5. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  6. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  7. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  8. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  9. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  10. When are we going to ________________?
  11. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  12. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  13. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  14. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  15. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  16. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  17. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  18. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  19. He was locked up in a ________________.
  20. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  21. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  22. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  23. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  24. There's no middle ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wax — to grow
  2. cell — a phone
  3. ground — the earth
  4. wax — in the ear
  5. chip — to eat
  6. pitch — completely
  7. chip — for betting
  8. root — of a plant
  9. net — in sport
  10. land — to come down
  11. cell — in biology
  12. pitch — a sales talk
  13. pitch — a sports field
  14. net — for catching
  15. root — of a word
  16. ground — crushed
  17. net — after costs
  18. root — the cause
  19. cell — in a prison
  20. land — a country
  21. land — ground
  22. chip — in a computer
  23. wax — for sculpting
  24. ground — a position

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