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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. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  2. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  3. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  4. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  5. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  6. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  7. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  8. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  9. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  10. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  11. Did you ________________ the meat?
  12. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  13. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  14. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  15. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  16. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  17. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  18. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  19. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  20. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  21. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  22. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  23. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  24. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.

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

Answer key

  1. wax — in the ear
  2. season — in sport
  3. straw — a straw man
  4. mark — to pay attention
  5. straw — to clutch at straws
  6. root — of a plant
  7. pitch — completely
  8. root — of a word
  9. root — the cause
  10. mark — a grade
  11. season — to add flavour
  12. wake — before a funeral
  13. season — of the year
  14. wake — a trail
  15. pitch — a sports field
  16. wax — to grow
  17. straw — dry grass
  18. hand — part of the body
  19. wake — to stop sleeping
  20. hand — help
  21. wax — for sculpting
  22. mark — a trace
  23. hand — in cards
  24. pitch — a sales talk

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