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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: press · wound · ground · bore · root · roll · calf · row

  1. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  2. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  3. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  4. Did you ________________ the button?
  5. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  6. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  7. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  8. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  9. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  10. We're on a ________________ here.
  11. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  12. There's no middle ________________.
  13. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  14. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  15. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  16. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  17. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  18. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  19. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  20. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  21. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  22. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  23. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  24. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.

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

Answer key

  1. wound — an injury
  2. roll — a list
  3. roll — a cake
  4. press — to push
  5. calf — a young animal
  6. row — to paddle
  7. ground — crushed
  8. root — of a word
  9. row — a quarrel
  10. roll — on a roll
  11. calf — a young animal
  12. ground — a position
  13. root — the cause
  14. ground — the earth
  15. root — of a plant
  16. bore — gave birth
  17. bore — to drill
  18. calf — of the leg
  19. row — a line
  20. wound — an injury
  21. bore — to tire
  22. press — newspapers
  23. wound — past of 'wind'
  24. press — a publisher

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