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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: cold · root · racket · tube · hide · wax · staff · arm

  1. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  2. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  3. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  4. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  5. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  6. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  7. I'll be taking the ________________.
  8. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  9. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  10. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  11. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  12. The water is too ________________.
  13. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  14. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  15. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  16. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  17. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  18. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  19. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  20. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  21. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  22. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  23. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  24. My father caught me by the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wax — for sculpting
  2. root — of a plant
  3. staff — a stick
  4. staff — employees
  5. wax — in the ear
  6. staff — employees
  7. tube — the underground
  8. cold — an illness
  9. hide — to keep secret
  10. arm — a part of something
  11. racket — a loud noise
  12. cold — not warm
  13. tube — in a tire
  14. tube — a container
  15. racket — for tennis
  16. hide — to keep secret
  17. arm — part of the body
  18. root — the cause
  19. hide — animal skin
  20. root — of a word
  21. racket — for tennis
  22. wax — to grow
  23. cold — the Cold War
  24. arm — part of the body

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