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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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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: root · kid · ball · wax · land · hide

  1. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  2. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  3. The King held a masked ________________.
  4. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  5. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  6. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  7. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  8. When are we going to ________________?
  9. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  10. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  11. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  12. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  13. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  14. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  15. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  16. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  17. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  18. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. land — ground
  2. land — a country
  3. ball — a dance
  4. wax — to grow
  5. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  6. hide — animal skin
  7. wax — for sculpting
  8. land — to come down
  9. wax — in the ear
  10. hide — to keep secret
  11. ball — a round shape
  12. ball — a great time
  13. root — of a plant
  14. kid — to tease
  15. hide — to keep secret
  16. root — of a word
  17. root — the cause
  18. kid — child

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