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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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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. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  2. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  3. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  4. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  5. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  6. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  7. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  8. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  9. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  10. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  11. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  12. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  13. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  14. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  15. That was a fun ________________.
  16. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  17. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  18. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  19. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  20. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  21. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  22. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  23. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  24. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. leaves — lets stay
  2. tear — from crying
  3. mine — an explosive
  4. root — of a word
  5. bark — to shout
  6. tear — to rip
  7. staff — employees
  8. staff — employees
  9. root — of a plant
  10. leaves — of a tree
  11. leaves — to go away
  12. tear — from crying
  13. game — wild animals
  14. row — a quarrel
  15. game — a match
  16. row — a line
  17. mine — belonging to me
  18. mine — for digging
  19. row — to paddle
  20. game — a kind of play
  21. staff — a stick
  22. root — the cause
  23. bark — a dog's sound
  24. bark — of a tree

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