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

Word bank: root · wax · march · kid · wind · cap · straw · staff

  1. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  2. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  3. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  4. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  5. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  6. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  7. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  8. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  9. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  10. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  11. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  12. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  13. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  14. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  15. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  16. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  17. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  18. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  19. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  20. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  21. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  22. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  23. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  24. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  2. cap — a lid
  3. cap — of ice
  4. wax — to grow
  5. kid — child
  6. march — the month
  7. staff — a stick
  8. root — of a plant
  9. cap — a hat
  10. march — the month
  11. wind — to turn a key
  12. wax — for sculpting
  13. straw — a straw man
  14. root — of a word
  15. wind — moving air
  16. march — music
  17. wind — moving air
  18. straw — dry grass
  19. root — the cause
  20. straw — to clutch at straws
  21. wax — in the ear
  22. staff — employees
  23. kid — to tease
  24. staff — employees

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