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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. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  2. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  3. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  4. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  5. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  6. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  7. He was locked up in a ________________.
  8. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  9. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  10. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  11. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  12. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  13. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  14. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  15. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  16. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  17. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  18. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  19. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  20. When are we going to ________________?
  21. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  22. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  23. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  24. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.

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

Answer key

  1. row — a line
  2. wax — to grow
  3. cell — a phone
  4. root — of a word
  5. wax — for sculpting
  6. row — a quarrel
  7. cell — in a prison
  8. cell — in biology
  9. snap — to snap out of it
  10. squash — the vegetable
  11. bark — to shout
  12. squash — the sport
  13. squash — to crush
  14. snap — to click
  15. row — to paddle
  16. root — of a plant
  17. wax — in the ear
  18. snap — to speak sharply
  19. land — ground
  20. land — to come down
  21. bark — of a tree
  22. root — the cause
  23. bark — a dog's sound
  24. land — a country

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