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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: mine · wax · dip · root · racket · clip · ground · cue

  1. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  2. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  3. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  4. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  5. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  6. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  7. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  8. There's no middle ________________.
  9. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  10. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  11. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  12. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  13. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  14. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  15. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  16. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  17. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  18. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  19. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  20. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  21. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  22. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  23. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  24. He hit the ball with his ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. racket — a loud noise
  2. cue — a hint
  3. wax — in the ear
  4. racket — for tennis
  5. dip — a sauce
  6. root — the cause
  7. root — of a word
  8. ground — a position
  9. cue — for pool
  10. wax — for sculpting
  11. dip — to dunk
  12. clip — to cut
  13. clip — for paper
  14. mine — belonging to me
  15. mine — an explosive
  16. dip — to sink
  17. clip — a video
  18. cue — a signal
  19. ground — crushed
  20. ground — the earth
  21. wax — to grow
  22. mine — for digging
  23. root — of a plant
  24. racket — for tennis

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