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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: deal · bear · root · court · row · tear · rush · land

  1. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  2. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  3. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  4. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  5. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  6. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  7. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  8. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  9. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  10. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  11. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  12. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  13. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  14. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  15. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  16. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  17. That must've been a ________________.
  18. When are we going to ________________?
  19. The ball is in your ________________.
  20. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  21. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  22. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  23. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  24. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.

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

Answer key

  1. deal — an agreement
  2. bear — the animal
  3. rush — to hurry
  4. tear — from crying
  5. court — of a king
  6. land — a country
  7. bear — the animal
  8. bear — to put up with
  9. land — ground
  10. root — of a word
  11. row — a quarrel
  12. tear — from crying
  13. root — the cause
  14. deal — a big deal
  15. tear — to rip
  16. root — of a plant
  17. rush — a thrill
  18. land — to come down
  19. court — for sport
  20. row — a line
  21. rush — hurry
  22. court — of law
  23. deal — to handle
  24. row — to paddle

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