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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. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  2. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  3. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  4. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  5. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  6. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  7. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  8. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  9. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  10. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  11. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  12. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  13. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  14. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  15. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  16. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  17. He works in a ________________ mill.
  18. She's very handy with a ________________.
  19. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  20. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  21. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  22. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  23. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  24. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.

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

Answer key

  1. root — of a word
  2. straw — dry grass
  3. saw — past of 'see'
  4. straw — a straw man
  5. bark — of a tree
  6. face — to point toward
  7. bark — a dog's sound
  8. straw — to clutch at straws
  9. net — for catching
  10. fan — a supporter
  11. face — to confront
  12. wound — an injury
  13. fan — to cool the air
  14. face — part of the head
  15. root — the cause
  16. fan — a supporter
  17. saw — the tool
  18. saw — the tool
  19. wound — an injury
  20. net — in sport
  21. wound — past of 'wind'
  22. net — after costs
  23. root — of a plant
  24. bark — to shout

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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