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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: root · bore · pound · hand · mouse · rush · bear · wind

  1. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  2. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  3. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  4. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  5. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  6. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  7. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  8. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  9. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  10. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  11. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  12. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  13. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  14. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  15. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  16. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  17. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  18. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  19. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  20. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  21. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  22. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  23. That must've been a ________________.
  24. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.

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

Answer key

  1. rush — to hurry
  2. hand — help
  3. wind — to turn a key
  4. bear — to put up with
  5. bore — to tire
  6. pound — a weight
  7. wind — moving air
  8. mouse — the animal
  9. bore — to drill
  10. bear — the animal
  11. pound — to hit hard
  12. hand — in cards
  13. pound — for dogs
  14. hand — part of the body
  15. root — the cause
  16. rush — hurry
  17. wind — moving air
  18. bore — gave birth
  19. mouse — for a computer
  20. root — of a word
  21. mouse — the animal
  22. bear — the animal
  23. rush — a thrill
  24. root — of a plant

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