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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 120 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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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  2. Have you found your soul ________________?
  3. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  4. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  5. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  6. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  7. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  8. I'll be taking the ________________.
  9. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  10. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  11. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  12. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  13. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  14. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  15. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  16. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  17. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  18. I got dealt a bad ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bark — of a tree
  2. mate — a partner
  3. hand — help
  4. fall — to drop
  5. fall — to drop
  6. root — of a word
  7. bark — a dog's sound
  8. tube — the underground
  9. bark — to shout
  10. tube — in a tire
  11. mate — to breed
  12. hand — part of the body
  13. root — of a plant
  14. fall — the season
  15. mate — a friend
  16. root — the cause
  17. tube — a container
  18. hand — in cards

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