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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. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  2. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  3. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  4. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  5. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  6. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  7. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  8. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  9. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  10. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  11. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  12. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  13. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  14. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  15. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  16. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  17. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  18. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  19. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  20. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  21. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  22. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  23. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  24. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.

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

Answer key

  1. bark — of a tree
  2. degree — an amount
  3. root — of a word
  4. bark — a dog's sound
  5. hide — to keep secret
  6. foot — a measure
  7. hide — to keep secret
  8. root — of a plant
  9. degree — from a university
  10. degree — temperature
  11. bark — to shout
  12. root — the cause
  13. branch — of a bank
  14. bat — for baseball
  15. lie — an untruth
  16. branch — a division
  17. lie — to recline
  18. foot — part of the body
  19. foot — the bottom
  20. branch — of a tree
  21. lie — an untruth
  22. hide — animal skin
  23. bat — in an idiom
  24. bat — the animal

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