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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. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  2. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  3. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  4. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  5. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  6. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  7. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  8. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  9. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  10. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  11. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  12. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  13. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  14. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  15. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  16. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  17. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  18. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  19. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  20. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  21. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  22. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  23. The King held a masked ________________.
  24. That was a fun ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bark — of a tree
  2. root — of a word
  3. shower — rain
  4. shower — a meteor shower
  5. spring — the season
  6. bore — gave birth
  7. ball — a great time
  8. ball — a round shape
  9. spring — a coil
  10. game — a kind of play
  11. bark — to shout
  12. bark — a dog's sound
  13. foot — part of the body
  14. foot — the bottom
  15. shower — to wash
  16. bore — to tire
  17. game — wild animals
  18. foot — a measure
  19. root — of a plant
  20. root — the cause
  21. bore — to drill
  22. spring — of water
  23. ball — a dance
  24. game — a match

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