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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: bear · ground · band · safe · root · hand · cell · wax

  1. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  2. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  3. He was locked up in a ________________.
  4. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  5. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  6. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  7. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  8. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  9. There's no middle ________________.
  10. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  11. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  12. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  13. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  14. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  15. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  16. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  17. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  18. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  19. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  20. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  21. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  22. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  23. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  24. Do you need a ________________ with that?

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

Answer key

  1. wax — in the ear
  2. hand — part of the body
  3. cell — in a prison
  4. bear — the animal
  5. safe — out of danger
  6. cell — in biology
  7. wax — for sculpting
  8. wax — to grow
  9. ground — a position
  10. safe — out of danger
  11. bear — to put up with
  12. hand — in cards
  13. bear — the animal
  14. root — the cause
  15. ground — the earth
  16. root — of a plant
  17. ground — crushed
  18. safe — a strongbox
  19. band — a rubber band
  20. band — a ring
  21. cell — a phone
  22. root — of a word
  23. band — a music group
  24. hand — help

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