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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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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  2. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  3. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  4. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  5. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  6. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  7. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  8. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  9. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  10. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  11. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  12. He was locked up in a ________________.
  13. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  14. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  15. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  16. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  17. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  18. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  19. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  20. He is an ace ________________.
  21. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  22. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  23. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  24. Fill up this ________________ with water.

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

Answer key

  1. row — a quarrel
  2. row — a line
  3. wave — a sudden rise
  4. wave — of the sea
  5. tear — from crying
  6. kick — with a leg
  7. wax — in the ear
  8. tear — to rip
  9. row — to paddle
  10. pitcher — a jug
  11. wax — for sculpting
  12. cell — in a prison
  13. wax — to grow
  14. tear — from crying
  15. root — of a plant
  16. root — the cause
  17. root — of a word
  18. kick — in football
  19. kick — a thrill
  20. pitcher — in baseball
  21. cell — a phone
  22. cell — in biology
  23. wave — with your hand
  24. pitcher — a jug

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