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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. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  3. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  4. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  5. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  6. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  7. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  8. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  9. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  10. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  11. I'll be taking the ________________.
  12. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  13. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  14. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  15. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  16. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  17. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  18. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  19. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  20. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  21. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  22. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  23. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  24. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.

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

Answer key

  1. bark — of a tree
  2. chest — of your body
  3. chest — a box
  4. chest — of your body
  5. degree — temperature
  6. current — of water
  7. tube — in a tire
  8. root — the cause
  9. root — of a word
  10. hand — part of the body
  11. tube — the underground
  12. fall — to drop
  13. current — happening now
  14. degree — from a university
  15. tube — a container
  16. hand — help
  17. bark — a dog's sound
  18. hand — in cards
  19. bark — to shout
  20. current — electric
  21. fall — the season
  22. root — of a plant
  23. degree — an amount
  24. fall — to drop

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