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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 · wax · fork · lean · rush · last · kid · row

  1. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  2. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  3. That must've been a ________________.
  4. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  5. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  6. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  7. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  8. False peace will not ________________.
  9. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  10. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  11. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  12. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  13. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  14. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  15. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  16. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  17. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  18. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  19. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  20. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  21. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  22. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  23. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  24. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.

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

Answer key

  1. rush — to hurry
  2. fork — in a road
  3. rush — a thrill
  4. row — a quarrel
  5. lean — thin
  6. last — final
  7. root — of a word
  8. last — to go on
  9. rush — hurry
  10. kid — child
  11. row — a line
  12. root — of a plant
  13. fork — a garden tool
  14. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  15. wax — to grow
  16. row — to paddle
  17. last — finally
  18. lean — to bend
  19. kid — to tease
  20. lean — to rest against
  21. wax — in the ear
  22. root — the cause
  23. fork — to eat with
  24. wax — for sculpting

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