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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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Word bank
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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: kick · wax · straw · root · shower · pitcher

  1. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  2. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  3. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  4. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  5. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  6. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  7. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  8. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  9. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  10. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  11. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  12. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  13. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  14. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  15. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  16. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  17. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  18. He is an ace ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. root — the cause
  2. pitcher — a jug
  3. shower — to wash
  4. wax — to grow
  5. straw — to clutch at straws
  6. wax — for sculpting
  7. kick — a thrill
  8. kick — with a leg
  9. straw — dry grass
  10. pitcher — a jug
  11. root — of a word
  12. wax — in the ear
  13. kick — in football
  14. root — of a plant
  15. shower — a meteor shower
  16. shower — rain
  17. straw — a straw man
  18. pitcher — in baseball

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