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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: mark · kid · root · wax · stem · row · shower · game

  1. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  2. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  3. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  4. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  5. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  6. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  7. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  8. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  9. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  10. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  11. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  12. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  13. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  14. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  15. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  16. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  17. That was a fun ________________.
  18. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  19. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  20. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  21. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  22. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  23. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  24. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.

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

Answer key

  1. row — to paddle
  2. stem — to come from
  3. root — of a word
  4. shower — a meteor shower
  5. row — a quarrel
  6. row — a line
  7. wax — for sculpting
  8. root — of a plant
  9. shower — rain
  10. kid — child
  11. mark — to pay attention
  12. mark — a trace
  13. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  14. mark — a grade
  15. root — the cause
  16. wax — in the ear
  17. game — a match
  18. wax — to grow
  19. shower — to wash
  20. kid — to tease
  21. stem — of a plant
  22. game — wild animals
  23. stem — a stem cell
  24. game — a kind of play

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