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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: root · net · mine · wax · spell · chip · wind · straw

  1. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  2. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  3. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  4. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  5. How do you ________________ your surname?
  6. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  7. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  8. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  9. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  10. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  11. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  12. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  13. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  14. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  15. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  16. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  17. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  18. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  19. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  20. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  21. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  22. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  23. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  24. He took the fish out of the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wax — for sculpting
  2. straw — to clutch at straws
  3. net — after costs
  4. chip — to eat
  5. spell — letters
  6. wind — moving air
  7. chip — in a computer
  8. mine — an explosive
  9. wind — to turn a key
  10. root — of a word
  11. root — of a plant
  12. mine — for digging
  13. straw — a straw man
  14. wind — moving air
  15. spell — a short time
  16. spell — magic
  17. straw — dry grass
  18. chip — for betting
  19. mine — belonging to me
  20. wax — in the ear
  21. net — in sport
  22. root — the cause
  23. wax — to grow
  24. net — for catching

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