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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. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  2. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  3. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  4. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  5. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  6. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  7. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  8. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  9. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  10. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  11. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  12. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  13. Have you found your soul ________________?
  14. That must've been a ________________.
  15. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  16. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  17. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  18. The ball hit the back of the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mate — a friend
  2. net — for catching
  3. bark — of a tree
  4. root — of a plant
  5. mate — to breed
  6. bark — to shout
  7. root — of a word
  8. net — after costs
  9. rush — hurry
  10. dip — to sink
  11. dip — a sauce
  12. root — the cause
  13. mate — a partner
  14. rush — a thrill
  15. bark — a dog's sound
  16. dip — to dunk
  17. rush — to hurry
  18. net — in sport

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