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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. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  2. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  3. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  4. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  5. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  6. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  7. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  8. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  9. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  10. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  11. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  12. We're on a ________________ here.
  13. That was a fun ________________.
  14. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  15. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  16. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  17. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  18. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  19. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  20. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  21. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  22. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  23. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  24. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.

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

Answer key

  1. dip — to dunk
  2. bark — to shout
  3. pass — to spend time
  4. dip — a sauce
  5. root — of a word
  6. bark — a dog's sound
  7. pass — a permit
  8. game — a kind of play
  9. chest — a box
  10. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  11. game — wild animals
  12. roll — on a roll
  13. game — a match
  14. kid — to tease
  15. roll — a cake
  16. roll — a list
  17. chest — of your body
  18. bark — of a tree
  19. kid — child
  20. chest — of your body
  21. dip — to sink
  22. root — of a plant
  23. pass — to succeed
  24. root — the cause

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