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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: track · shower · bear · drill · root · wax · season · fan

  1. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  2. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  3. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  4. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  5. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  6. Did you ________________ the meat?
  7. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  8. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  9. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  10. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  11. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  12. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  13. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  14. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  15. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  16. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  17. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  18. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  19. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  20. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  21. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  22. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  23. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  24. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.

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

Answer key

  1. bear — to put up with
  2. root — of a word
  3. fan — a supporter
  4. bear — the animal
  5. track — a song
  6. season — to add flavour
  7. shower — a meteor shower
  8. shower — to wash
  9. shower — rain
  10. wax — for sculpting
  11. season — in sport
  12. drill — a practice
  13. wax — in the ear
  14. fan — a supporter
  15. fan — to cool the air
  16. track — to keep track
  17. bear — the animal
  18. season — of the year
  19. root — the cause
  20. wax — to grow
  21. drill — army training
  22. drill — the tool
  23. root — of a plant
  24. track — a path

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