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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. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  2. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  3. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  4. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  5. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  6. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  7. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  8. He was locked up in a ________________.
  9. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  10. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  11. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  12. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  13. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  14. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  15. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  16. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  17. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  18. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  19. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  20. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  21. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  22. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  23. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  24. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.

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

Answer key

  1. club — for dancing
  2. trunk — of an elephant
  3. wax — for sculpting
  4. root — the cause
  5. wax — to grow
  6. rule — a law
  7. club — a group
  8. cell — in a prison
  9. bat — the animal
  10. cell — in biology
  11. rule — government
  12. trunk — of a tree
  13. root — of a word
  14. degree — an amount
  15. bat — for baseball
  16. bat — in an idiom
  17. root — of a plant
  18. club — for golf
  19. wax — in the ear
  20. trunk — of a car
  21. degree — temperature
  22. cell — a phone
  23. degree — from a university
  24. rule — to rule out

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