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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 flowers bloom in the ________________.
  3. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  4. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  5. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  6. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  7. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  8. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  9. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  10. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  11. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  12. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  13. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  14. Where did you ________________ them?
  15. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  16. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  17. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  18. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  19. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  20. When are we going to ________________?
  21. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  22. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  23. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  24. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!

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

Answer key

  1. row — a quarrel
  2. spring — the season
  3. spring — a coil
  4. rock — music
  5. mug — a cup
  6. root — of a word
  7. spring — of water
  8. root — the cause
  9. bear — the animal
  10. rock — a stone
  11. bear — the animal
  12. wax — for sculpting
  13. wax — to grow
  14. mug — to rob
  15. mug — a face
  16. row — a line
  17. wax — in the ear
  18. rock — to move gently
  19. land — a country
  20. land — to come down
  21. row — to paddle
  22. land — ground
  23. root — of a plant
  24. bear — to put up with

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