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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 116 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. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  2. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  3. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  4. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  5. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  6. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  7. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  8. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  9. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  10. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  11. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  12. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  13. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  14. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  15. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  16. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  17. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  18. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  19. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  20. The water is too ________________.
  21. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  22. How do you ________________ your surname?
  23. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  24. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.

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

Answer key

  1. bark — a dog's sound
  2. root — the cause
  3. scale — size or range
  4. bark — of a tree
  5. root — of a plant
  6. fan — a supporter
  7. scale — for weighing
  8. wound — an injury
  9. root — of a word
  10. clip — to cut
  11. clip — a video
  12. scale — in music
  13. cold — the Cold War
  14. bark — to shout
  15. wound — past of 'wind'
  16. fan — a supporter
  17. fan — to cool the air
  18. clip — for paper
  19. wound — an injury
  20. cold — not warm
  21. spell — magic
  22. spell — letters
  23. cold — an illness
  24. spell — a short time

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