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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 120 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. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  2. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  3. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  4. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  5. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  6. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  7. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  8. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  9. I'll be taking the ________________.
  10. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  11. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  12. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  13. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  14. False peace will not ________________.
  15. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  16. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  17. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  18. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  19. I can't ________________ this cold.
  20. Don't do anything ________________.
  21. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  22. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  23. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  24. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.

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

Answer key

  1. wax — in the ear
  2. rash — on the skin
  3. kid — child
  4. rash — a series
  5. perch — for a bird
  6. last — finally
  7. stand — on your feet
  8. kid — to tease
  9. tube — the underground
  10. stand — for spectators
  11. wax — for sculpting
  12. last — final
  13. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  14. last — to go on
  15. perch — the fish
  16. root — of a plant
  17. tube — a container
  18. perch — for a bird
  19. stand — to bear
  20. rash — hasty
  21. wax — to grow
  22. tube — in a tire
  23. root — of a word
  24. root — the cause

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