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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 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. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  3. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  4. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  5. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  6. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  7. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  8. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  9. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  10. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  11. You don't need to ________________ round.
  12. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  13. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  14. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  15. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  16. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  17. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  18. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  19. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  20. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  21. We're almost out of ________________.
  22. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  23. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  24. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.

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

Answer key

  1. row — a quarrel
  2. calf — of the leg
  3. row — to paddle
  4. spring — a coil
  5. root — of a word
  6. wax — for sculpting
  7. field — a subject
  8. staff — a stick
  9. pop — music
  10. spring — the season
  11. pop — to visit
  12. spring — of water
  13. root — of a plant
  14. wax — in the ear
  15. row — a line
  16. calf — a young animal
  17. staff — employees
  18. root — the cause
  19. field — farmland
  20. field — for sport
  21. pop — soda
  22. wax — to grow
  23. staff — employees
  24. calf — a young animal

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