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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. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  2. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  3. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  4. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  5. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  6. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  7. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  8. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  9. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  10. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  11. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  12. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  13. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  14. The King held a masked ________________.
  15. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  16. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  17. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  18. That must've been a ________________.
  19. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  20. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  21. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  22. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  23. There's no middle ________________.
  24. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.

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

Answer key

  1. wound — an injury
  2. club — a group
  3. club — for dancing
  4. root — the cause
  5. wound — past of 'wind'
  6. bark — a dog's sound
  7. bark — of a tree
  8. ground — the earth
  9. straw — a straw man
  10. rush — to hurry
  11. ball — a great time
  12. ball — a round shape
  13. rush — hurry
  14. ball — a dance
  15. straw — to clutch at straws
  16. ground — crushed
  17. bark — to shout
  18. rush — a thrill
  19. straw — dry grass
  20. club — for golf
  21. root — of a word
  22. wound — an injury
  23. ground — a position
  24. root — of a plant

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