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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 120 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 ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  2. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  3. When are we going to ________________?
  4. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  5. False peace will not ________________.
  6. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  7. You don't need to ________________ round.
  8. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  9. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  10. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  11. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  12. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  13. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  14. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  15. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  16. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  17. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  18. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  19. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  20. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  21. We're almost out of ________________.
  22. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  23. There's no middle ________________.
  24. At ________________, we arrived at the village.

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

Answer key

  1. root — of a plant
  2. calf — a young animal
  3. land — to come down
  4. shower — to wash
  5. last — to go on
  6. wax — in the ear
  7. pop — to visit
  8. calf — a young animal
  9. calf — of the leg
  10. wax — for sculpting
  11. root — of a word
  12. land — a country
  13. last — final
  14. shower — rain
  15. ground — the earth
  16. ground — crushed
  17. land — ground
  18. pop — music
  19. root — the cause
  20. wax — to grow
  21. pop — soda
  22. shower — a meteor shower
  23. ground — a position
  24. last — finally

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