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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 speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  2. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  3. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  4. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  5. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  6. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  7. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  8. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  9. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  10. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  11. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  12. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  13. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  14. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  15. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  16. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  17. False peace will not ________________.
  18. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  19. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  20. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  21. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  22. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  23. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  24. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.

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

Answer key

  1. wake — a trail
  2. wake — to stop sleeping
  3. bark — a dog's sound
  4. root — the cause
  5. branch — a division
  6. last — finally
  7. last — final
  8. branch — of a tree
  9. wake — before a funeral
  10. tear — from crying
  11. tear — to rip
  12. bark — of a tree
  13. root — of a word
  14. root — of a plant
  15. spring — of water
  16. scale — size or range
  17. last — to go on
  18. branch — of a bank
  19. bark — to shout
  20. scale — in music
  21. spring — the season
  22. scale — for weighing
  23. tear — from crying
  24. spring — a coil

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