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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. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  2. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  3. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  4. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  5. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  6. The King held a masked ________________.
  7. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  8. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  9. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  10. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  11. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  12. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  13. When are we going to ________________?
  14. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  15. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  16. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  17. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  18. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  19. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  20. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  21. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  22. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  23. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  24. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — money
  2. wax — to grow
  3. root — of a word
  4. land — a country
  5. bass — the instrument
  6. ball — a dance
  7. capital — a big letter
  8. firm — decided
  9. firm — a company
  10. fork — to eat with
  11. ball — a great time
  12. fork — a garden tool
  13. land — to come down
  14. firm — steady
  15. root — the cause
  16. root — of a plant
  17. capital — a city
  18. wax — for sculpting
  19. land — ground
  20. wax — in the ear
  21. bass — low music
  22. fork — in a road
  23. ball — a round shape
  24. bass — the fish

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