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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. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  2. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  3. There's no middle ________________.
  4. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  5. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  6. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  7. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  8. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  9. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  10. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  11. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  12. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  13. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  14. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  15. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  16. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  17. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  18. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  19. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  20. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  21. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  22. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  23. He was locked up in a ________________.
  24. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. board — a committee
  2. root — of a word
  3. ground — a position
  4. bat — in an idiom
  5. object — a thing
  6. object — to protest
  7. wax — in the ear
  8. cell — a phone
  9. shower — to wash
  10. board — a flat piece
  11. wax — for sculpting
  12. board — to get on
  13. cell — in biology
  14. root — the cause
  15. ground — the earth
  16. root — of a plant
  17. bat — for baseball
  18. object — an aim
  19. bat — the animal
  20. wax — to grow
  21. ground — crushed
  22. shower — rain
  23. cell — in a prison
  24. shower — a meteor shower

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