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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 120 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: root · field · current · drill · wax · race · tear · wake

  1. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  2. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  3. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  4. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  5. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  6. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  7. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  8. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  9. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  10. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  11. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  12. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  13. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  14. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  15. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  16. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  17. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  18. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  19. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  20. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  21. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  22. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  23. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  24. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. field — a subject
  2. root — the cause
  3. root — of a plant
  4. current — happening now
  5. wake — to stop sleeping
  6. tear — from crying
  7. field — farmland
  8. wake — before a funeral
  9. race — a contest
  10. drill — army training
  11. root — of a word
  12. current — electric
  13. wax — in the ear
  14. tear — from crying
  15. tear — to rip
  16. drill — a practice
  17. drill — the tool
  18. race — humankind
  19. wax — for sculpting
  20. wax — to grow
  21. wake — a trail
  22. current — of water
  23. race — the arms race
  24. field — for sport

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