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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: root · wax · bore · shower · game · row · bark · cell

  1. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  2. He was locked up in a ________________.
  3. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  4. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  5. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  6. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  7. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  8. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  9. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  10. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  11. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  12. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  13. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  14. That was a fun ________________.
  15. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  16. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  17. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  18. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  19. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  20. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  21. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  22. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  23. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  24. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!

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

Answer key

  1. row — a quarrel
  2. cell — in a prison
  3. bore — to tire
  4. bark — a dog's sound
  5. bark — to shout
  6. bark — of a tree
  7. root — of a plant
  8. game — a kind of play
  9. wax — in the ear
  10. shower — to wash
  11. cell — in biology
  12. wax — to grow
  13. shower — rain
  14. game — a match
  15. root — of a word
  16. bore — to drill
  17. game — wild animals
  18. root — the cause
  19. bore — gave birth
  20. shower — a meteor shower
  21. row — a line
  22. row — to paddle
  23. wax — for sculpting
  24. cell — a phone

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