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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: fine · wax · game · ground · kid · root · present · tear

  1. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  2. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  3. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  4. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  5. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  6. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  7. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  8. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  9. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  10. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  11. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  12. That was a fun ________________.
  13. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  14. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  15. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  16. There's no middle ________________.
  17. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  18. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  19. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  20. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  21. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  22. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  23. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  24. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.

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

Answer key

  1. root — of a word
  2. tear — from crying
  3. fine — high quality
  4. wax — to grow
  5. present — there
  6. root — of a plant
  7. ground — the earth
  8. game — a kind of play
  9. root — the cause
  10. wax — in the ear
  11. fine — all right
  12. game — a match
  13. kid — to tease
  14. fine — a penalty
  15. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  16. ground — a position
  17. wax — for sculpting
  18. ground — crushed
  19. tear — from crying
  20. tear — to rip
  21. game — wild animals
  22. kid — child
  23. present — a gift
  24. present — the time now

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