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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. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  2. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  3. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  4. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  5. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  6. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  7. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  8. False peace will not ________________.
  9. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  10. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  11. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  12. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  13. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  14. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  15. That was a fun ________________.
  16. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  17. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  18. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  19. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  20. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  21. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  22. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  23. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  24. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.

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

Answer key

  1. last — final
  2. bank — of a river
  3. hand — part of the body
  4. wax — in the ear
  5. wax — for sculpting
  6. root — the cause
  7. bore — to tire
  8. last — to go on
  9. bank — for money
  10. wax — to grow
  11. root — of a plant
  12. bore — gave birth
  13. game — wild animals
  14. dip — to dunk
  15. game — a match
  16. bore — to drill
  17. hand — in cards
  18. dip — a sauce
  19. game — a kind of play
  20. root — of a word
  21. dip — to sink
  22. hand — help
  23. last — finally
  24. bank — for money

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