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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. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  2. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  3. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  4. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  5. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  6. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  7. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  8. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  9. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  10. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  11. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  12. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  13. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  14. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  15. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  16. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  17. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  18. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  19. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  20. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  21. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  22. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  23. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  24. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.

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

Answer key

  1. bowl — to roll
  2. branch — a division
  3. tear — to rip
  4. root — of a word
  5. kick — a thrill
  6. bowl — a dish
  7. cue — a hint
  8. kick — in football
  9. root — of a plant
  10. cue — for pool
  11. row — a quarrel
  12. bowl — a football final
  13. row — to paddle
  14. tear — from crying
  15. wax — in the ear
  16. wax — to grow
  17. tear — from crying
  18. branch — of a tree
  19. branch — of a bank
  20. root — the cause
  21. wax — for sculpting
  22. row — a line
  23. kick — with a leg
  24. cue — a signal

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