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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: pound · club · wax · root · hand · present · content · row

  1. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  2. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  3. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  4. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  5. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  6. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  7. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  8. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  9. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  10. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  11. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  12. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  13. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  14. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  15. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  16. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  17. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  18. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  19. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  20. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  21. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  22. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  23. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  24. I got dealt a bad ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. club — for dancing
  2. wax — for sculpting
  3. root — the cause
  4. row — a quarrel
  5. content — videos and posts
  6. hand — help
  7. present — the time now
  8. content — the amount
  9. club — for golf
  10. present — there
  11. pound — a weight
  12. present — a gift
  13. content — happy
  14. root — of a word
  15. hand — part of the body
  16. root — of a plant
  17. wax — to grow
  18. row — a line
  19. pound — to hit hard
  20. row — to paddle
  21. pound — for dogs
  22. wax — in the ear
  23. club — a group
  24. hand — in cards

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