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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. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  3. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  4. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  5. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  6. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  7. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  8. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  9. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  10. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  11. That was ________________ to happen.
  12. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  13. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  14. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  15. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  16. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  17. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  18. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  19. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  20. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  21. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  22. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  23. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  24. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.

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

Answer key

  1. row — a quarrel
  2. root — of a word
  3. field — farmland
  4. wax — for sculpting
  5. mine — belonging to me
  6. mine — an explosive
  7. field — a subject
  8. mine — for digging
  9. row — to paddle
  10. bank — for money
  11. bound — certain
  12. bound — obliged
  13. root — the cause
  14. wax — to grow
  15. row — a line
  16. field — for sport
  17. dip — to sink
  18. dip — to dunk
  19. bound — tied together
  20. root — of a plant
  21. wax — in the ear
  22. bank — of a river
  23. dip — a sauce
  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