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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: fan · craft · content · row · wake · root · tear · march

  1. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  2. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  3. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  4. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  5. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  6. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  7. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  8. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  9. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  10. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  11. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  12. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  13. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  14. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  15. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  16. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  17. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  18. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  19. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  20. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  21. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  22. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  23. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  24. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.

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

Answer key

  1. fan — a supporter
  2. root — of a plant
  3. tear — to rip
  4. craft — a skill
  5. row — a quarrel
  6. wake — before a funeral
  7. fan — to cool the air
  8. craft — a handicraft
  9. fan — a supporter
  10. wake — to stop sleeping
  11. march — the month
  12. tear — from crying
  13. march — the month
  14. root — the cause
  15. content — videos and posts
  16. craft — boats
  17. row — to paddle
  18. content — happy
  19. content — the amount
  20. row — a line
  21. root — of a word
  22. tear — from crying
  23. wake — a trail
  24. march — music

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