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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: drill · root · game · tear · stock · fan · spell · wave

  1. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  2. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  3. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  4. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  5. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  6. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  7. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  8. How do you ________________ your surname?
  9. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  10. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  11. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  12. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  13. That was a fun ________________.
  14. The ________________ market has crashed.
  15. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  16. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  17. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  18. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  19. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  20. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  21. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  22. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  23. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  24. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. root — of a word
  2. game — wild animals
  3. tear — from crying
  4. spell — a short time
  5. fan — a supporter
  6. fan — to cool the air
  7. wave — with your hand
  8. spell — letters
  9. drill — army training
  10. wave — a sudden rise
  11. tear — from crying
  12. drill — the tool
  13. game — a match
  14. stock — shares
  15. drill — a practice
  16. fan — a supporter
  17. root — the cause
  18. game — a kind of play
  19. spell — magic
  20. stock — a soup base
  21. stock — goods
  22. tear — to rip
  23. root — of a plant
  24. wave — of the sea

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