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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 · wax · rest · root · spell · mate · ground · bear

  1. Have you found your soul ________________?
  2. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  3. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  4. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  5. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  6. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  7. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  8. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  9. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  10. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  11. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  12. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  13. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  14. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  15. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  16. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  17. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  18. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  19. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  20. There's no middle ________________.
  21. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  22. How do you ________________ your surname?
  23. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  24. We had a fire ________________ at school today.

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

Answer key

  1. mate — a partner
  2. wax — for sculpting
  3. spell — a short time
  4. mate — a friend
  5. root — the cause
  6. ground — crushed
  7. bear — the animal
  8. spell — magic
  9. bear — to put up with
  10. ground — the earth
  11. wax — in the ear
  12. rest — what's left
  13. root — of a word
  14. bear — the animal
  15. root — of a plant
  16. mate — to breed
  17. wax — to grow
  18. rest — a break
  19. drill — the tool
  20. ground — a position
  21. drill — army training
  22. spell — letters
  23. rest — what's left
  24. drill — a practice

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