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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. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  2. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  3. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  4. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  5. The King held a masked ________________.
  6. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  7. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  8. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  9. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  10. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  11. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  12. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  13. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  14. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  15. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  16. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  17. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  18. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  19. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  20. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  21. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  22. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  23. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  24. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.

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

Answer key

  1. wax — in the ear
  2. fork — a garden tool
  3. net — after costs
  4. ball — a round shape
  5. ball — a dance
  6. field — for sport
  7. root — the cause
  8. wax — for sculpting
  9. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  10. fork — to eat with
  11. bark — a dog's sound
  12. root — of a word
  13. bark — to shout
  14. bark — of a tree
  15. wax — to grow
  16. kid — to tease
  17. kid — child
  18. net — for catching
  19. field — a subject
  20. ball — a great time
  21. net — in sport
  22. field — farmland
  23. fork — in a road
  24. root — of a plant

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