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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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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. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  3. There's no middle ________________.
  4. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  5. David sat on the ________________.
  6. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  7. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  8. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  9. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  10. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  11. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  12. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  13. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  14. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  15. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  16. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  17. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  18. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  19. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  20. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  21. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  22. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  23. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  24. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.

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

Answer key

  1. bark — of a tree
  2. root — of a plant
  3. ground — a position
  4. straw — dry grass
  5. swing — to play on
  6. perch — for a bird
  7. root — of a word
  8. fall — to drop
  9. ground — crushed
  10. swing — in golf
  11. perch — for a bird
  12. straw — a straw man
  13. bark — to shout
  14. fall — to drop
  15. bark — a dog's sound
  16. fan — a supporter
  17. perch — the fish
  18. fan — to cool the air
  19. fan — a supporter
  20. fall — the season
  21. straw — to clutch at straws
  22. swing — music
  23. root — the cause
  24. ground — the earth

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