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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. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  2. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  3. That was a fun ________________.
  4. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  5. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  6. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  7. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  8. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  9. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  10. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  11. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  12. Have you met the new head ________________?
  13. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  14. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  15. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  16. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  17. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  18. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  19. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  20. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  21. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  22. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  23. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  24. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.

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

Answer key

  1. root — of a word
  2. bark — of a tree
  3. game — a match
  4. root — the cause
  5. fork — in a road
  6. root — of a plant
  7. prune — to trim
  8. prune — the fruit
  9. wake — a trail
  10. wake — to stop sleeping
  11. coach — a trainer
  12. coach — a trainer
  13. game — wild animals
  14. clip — a video
  15. game — a kind of play
  16. prune — to trim
  17. bark — to shout
  18. coach — pulled by horses
  19. wake — before a funeral
  20. fork — a garden tool
  21. clip — to cut
  22. bark — a dog's sound
  23. clip — for paper
  24. fork — to eat with

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