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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 116 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. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  2. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  3. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  4. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  5. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  6. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  7. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  8. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  9. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  10. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  11. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  12. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  13. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  14. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  15. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  16. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  17. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  18. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  19. When are we going to ________________?
  20. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  21. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  22. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  23. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  24. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. staff — employees
  2. snap — to click
  3. root — the cause
  4. content — videos and posts
  5. staff — employees
  6. wax — in the ear
  7. content — the amount
  8. bank — of a river
  9. wax — to grow
  10. land — ground
  11. bank — for money
  12. field — a subject
  13. bank — for money
  14. root — of a word
  15. staff — a stick
  16. content — happy
  17. snap — to snap out of it
  18. root — of a plant
  19. land — to come down
  20. snap — to speak sharply
  21. land — a country
  22. wax — for sculpting
  23. field — farmland
  24. field — for sport

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