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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 ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  2. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  3. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  4. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  5. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  6. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  7. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  8. Where did you ________________ them?
  9. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  10. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  11. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  12. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  13. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  14. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  15. David sat on the ________________.
  16. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  17. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  18. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  19. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  20. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  21. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  22. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  23. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  24. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.

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

Answer key

  1. root — of a word
  2. prune — to trim
  3. prune — to trim
  4. mug — a face
  5. drill — army training
  6. kick — a thrill
  7. drill — a practice
  8. mug — to rob
  9. bark — to shout
  10. kick — with a leg
  11. mine — for digging
  12. mine — an explosive
  13. swing — in golf
  14. drill — the tool
  15. swing — to play on
  16. root — of a plant
  17. swing — music
  18. mine — belonging to me
  19. bark — a dog's sound
  20. prune — the fruit
  21. bark — of a tree
  22. root — the cause
  23. mug — a cup
  24. kick — in football

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