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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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468
Word bank
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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. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  2. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  3. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  4. The ________________ went through the wall.
  5. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  6. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  7. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  8. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  9. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  10. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  11. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  12. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  13. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  14. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  15. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  16. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  17. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  18. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  19. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  20. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  21. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  22. He was locked up in a ________________.
  23. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  24. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.

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

Answer key

  1. nail — for a hammer
  2. nail — on a finger
  3. root — of a plant
  4. nail — for a hammer
  5. field — farmland
  6. bark — a dog's sound
  7. racket — for tennis
  8. root — the cause
  9. degree — an amount
  10. fork — in a road
  11. racket — a loud noise
  12. cell — a phone
  13. degree — temperature
  14. fork — to eat with
  15. root — of a word
  16. field — for sport
  17. bark — of a tree
  18. degree — from a university
  19. field — a subject
  20. cell — in biology
  21. racket — for tennis
  22. cell — in a prison
  23. bark — to shout
  24. fork — a garden tool

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