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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: lean · content · stand · ground · root · trunk · cold · wax

  1. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  2. There's no middle ________________.
  3. The water is too ________________.
  4. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  5. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  6. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  7. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  8. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  9. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  10. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  11. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  12. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  13. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  14. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  15. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  16. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  17. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  18. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  19. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  20. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  21. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  22. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  23. I can't ________________ this cold.
  24. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — an illness
  2. ground — a position
  3. cold — not warm
  4. wax — in the ear
  5. stand — on your feet
  6. stand — for spectators
  7. lean — to bend
  8. wax — for sculpting
  9. lean — to rest against
  10. root — of a word
  11. wax — to grow
  12. content — videos and posts
  13. content — the amount
  14. root — of a plant
  15. cold — the Cold War
  16. root — the cause
  17. ground — crushed
  18. trunk — of an elephant
  19. trunk — of a car
  20. ground — the earth
  21. lean — thin
  22. content — happy
  23. stand — to bear
  24. trunk — of a tree

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