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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 116 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: bark · wound · wax · mouse · file · shower · rush · root

  1. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  2. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  3. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  4. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  5. That must've been a ________________.
  6. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  7. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  8. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  9. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  10. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  11. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  12. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  13. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  14. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  15. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  16. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  17. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  18. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  19. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  20. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  21. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  22. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  23. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  24. The moon will ________________ and wane.

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

Answer key

  1. bark — a dog's sound
  2. wound — an injury
  3. wound — past of 'wind'
  4. shower — to wash
  5. rush — a thrill
  6. rush — to hurry
  7. root — the cause
  8. root — of a word
  9. wound — an injury
  10. root — of a plant
  11. file — a document
  12. file — a line of people
  13. shower — a meteor shower
  14. file — a tool
  15. mouse — the animal
  16. wax — for sculpting
  17. rush — hurry
  18. bark — of a tree
  19. mouse — the animal
  20. shower — rain
  21. wax — in the ear
  22. bark — to shout
  23. mouse — for a computer
  24. wax — to grow

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