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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. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  2. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  3. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  4. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  5. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  6. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  7. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  8. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  9. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  10. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  11. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  12. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  13. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  14. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  15. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  16. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  17. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  18. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  19. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  20. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  21. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  22. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  23. It's one o'clock ________________.
  24. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.

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

Answer key

  1. root — of a word
  2. bark — a dog's sound
  3. trunk — of an elephant
  4. racket — for tennis
  5. object — to protest
  6. object — an aim
  7. pound — to hit hard
  8. trunk — of a tree
  9. racket — a loud noise
  10. bark — of a tree
  11. bark — to shout
  12. root — the cause
  13. trunk — of a car
  14. object — a thing
  15. sharp — with an edge
  16. racket — for tennis
  17. wound — an injury
  18. sharp — clever
  19. root — of a plant
  20. pound — a weight
  21. wound — an injury
  22. wound — past of 'wind'
  23. sharp — exactly
  24. pound — for dogs

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