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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. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  2. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  3. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  4. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  5. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  6. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  7. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  8. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  9. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  10. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  11. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  12. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  13. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  14. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  15. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  16. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  17. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  18. That was a fun ________________.
  19. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  20. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  21. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  22. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  23. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  24. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.

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

Answer key

  1. game — a kind of play
  2. game — wild animals
  3. bark — of a tree
  4. patient — calm and waiting
  5. spring — of water
  6. root — of a plant
  7. root — the cause
  8. spring — a coil
  9. mark — to pay attention
  10. squash — the sport
  11. squash — to crush
  12. snap — to snap out of it
  13. root — of a word
  14. bark — to shout
  15. mark — a trace
  16. bark — a dog's sound
  17. snap — to speak sharply
  18. game — a match
  19. mark — a grade
  20. spring — the season
  21. patient — a sick person
  22. snap — to click
  23. patient — a sick person
  24. squash — the vegetable

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