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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 from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: rest · kick · root · drill · tear · pound

  1. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  2. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  3. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  4. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  5. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  6. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  7. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  8. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  9. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  10. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  11. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  12. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  13. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  14. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  15. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  16. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  17. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  18. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.

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

Answer key

  1. rest — what's left
  2. pound — to hit hard
  3. tear — from crying
  4. rest — a break
  5. root — of a word
  6. tear — from crying
  7. drill — the tool
  8. tear — to rip
  9. root — the cause
  10. kick — with a leg
  11. kick — a thrill
  12. kick — in football
  13. pound — a weight
  14. pound — for dogs
  15. root — of a plant
  16. rest — what's left
  17. drill — a practice
  18. drill — army training

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