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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: wax · roll · file · nail · chest · bear · kid · root

  1. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  2. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  3. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  4. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  5. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  6. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  7. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  8. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  9. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  10. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  11. We're on a ________________ here.
  12. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  13. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  14. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  15. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  16. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  17. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  18. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  19. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  20. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  21. The ________________ went through the wall.
  22. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  23. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  24. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. root — of a word
  2. file — a document
  3. chest — of your body
  4. bear — the animal
  5. roll — a list
  6. bear — to put up with
  7. roll — a cake
  8. nail — on a finger
  9. root — the cause
  10. chest — of your body
  11. roll — on a roll
  12. wax — to grow
  13. file — a tool
  14. root — of a plant
  15. kid — child
  16. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  17. bear — the animal
  18. kid — to tease
  19. chest — a box
  20. nail — for a hammer
  21. nail — for a hammer
  22. file — a line of people
  23. wax — for sculpting
  24. wax — in the ear

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