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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.

Words on the sheet
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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: root · spell · ground · wax · land · fan · wake · kid

  1. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  2. There's no middle ________________.
  3. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  4. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  5. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  6. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  7. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  8. How do you ________________ your surname?
  9. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  10. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  11. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  12. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  13. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  14. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  15. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  16. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  17. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  18. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  19. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  20. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  21. When are we going to ________________?
  22. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  23. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  24. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.

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

Answer key

  1. fan — to cool the air
  2. ground — a position
  3. spell — a short time
  4. kid — child
  5. root — of a plant
  6. fan — a supporter
  7. fan — a supporter
  8. spell — letters
  9. land — ground
  10. ground — crushed
  11. wake — a trail
  12. wax — in the ear
  13. wax — for sculpting
  14. ground — the earth
  15. wake — before a funeral
  16. land — a country
  17. kid — to tease
  18. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  19. spell — magic
  20. root — the cause
  21. land — to come down
  22. root — of a word
  23. wax — to grow
  24. wake — to stop sleeping

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