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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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Word bank
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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: cell · root · wax · tear · kick · pitcher

  1. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  2. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  3. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  4. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  5. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  6. He is an ace ________________.
  7. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  8. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  9. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  10. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  11. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  12. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  13. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  14. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  15. He was locked up in a ________________.
  16. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  17. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  18. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.

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

Answer key

  1. wax — in the ear
  2. wax — to grow
  3. tear — from crying
  4. wax — for sculpting
  5. kick — a thrill
  6. pitcher — in baseball
  7. root — the cause
  8. root — of a word
  9. kick — in football
  10. cell — a phone
  11. root — of a plant
  12. pitcher — a jug
  13. tear — to rip
  14. tear — from crying
  15. cell — in a prison
  16. cell — in biology
  17. pitcher — a jug
  18. kick — with a leg

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