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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: root · tear · rock · shower · wake · kid

  1. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  2. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  3. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  4. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  5. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  6. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  7. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  8. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  9. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  10. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  11. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  12. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  13. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  14. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  15. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  16. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  17. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  18. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.

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

Answer key

  1. wake — before a funeral
  2. root — of a word
  3. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  4. tear — from crying
  5. root — of a plant
  6. rock — a stone
  7. kid — to tease
  8. tear — to rip
  9. wake — to stop sleeping
  10. rock — music
  11. kid — child
  12. rock — to move gently
  13. tear — from crying
  14. shower — a meteor shower
  15. root — the cause
  16. shower — rain
  17. shower — to wash
  18. wake — a trail

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