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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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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: court · wake · wax · pitch · mate · kid · chair · root

  1. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  2. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  3. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  4. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  5. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  6. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  7. The ball is in your ________________.
  8. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  9. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  10. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  11. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  12. Have you found your soul ________________?
  13. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  14. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  15. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  16. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  17. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  18. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  19. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  20. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  21. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  22. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  23. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  24. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — to tease
  2. court — of law
  3. root — of a plant
  4. mate — to breed
  5. wax — to grow
  6. court — of a king
  7. court — for sport
  8. mate — a friend
  9. pitch — a sports field
  10. wake — to stop sleeping
  11. root — the cause
  12. mate — a partner
  13. chair — to sit on
  14. pitch — a sales talk
  15. kid — child
  16. chair — a professorship
  17. chair — a leader
  18. wax — for sculpting
  19. pitch — completely
  20. wake — a trail
  21. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  22. root — of a word
  23. wax — in the ear
  24. wake — before a funeral

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