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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. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  2. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  3. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  4. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  5. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  6. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  7. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  8. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  9. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  10. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  11. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  12. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  13. How do you ________________ your surname?
  14. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  15. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  16. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  17. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  18. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  19. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  20. Have you settled on a ________________?
  21. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  22. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  23. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  24. There's no middle ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wax — to grow
  2. wax — in the ear
  3. date — on the calendar
  4. date — the fruit
  5. wind — to turn a key
  6. spell — magic
  7. root — the cause
  8. bowl — to roll
  9. ground — crushed
  10. wind — moving air
  11. wax — for sculpting
  12. bowl — a dish
  13. spell — letters
  14. root — of a word
  15. spell — a short time
  16. dip — a sauce
  17. bowl — a football final
  18. root — of a plant
  19. wind — moving air
  20. date — on the calendar
  21. dip — to sink
  22. ground — the earth
  23. dip — to dunk
  24. ground — a position

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