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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 120 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 a dandelion is edible, too.
  2. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  3. The water is too ________________.
  4. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  5. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  6. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  7. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  8. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  9. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  10. This piece is in a major ________________.
  11. The ________________ went through the wall.
  12. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  13. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  14. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  15. He is an ace ________________.
  16. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  17. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  18. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  19. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  20. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  21. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  22. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  23. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  24. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?

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

Answer key

  1. root — of a plant
  2. track — a path
  3. cold — not warm
  4. nail — for a hammer
  5. bark — a dog's sound
  6. cold — the Cold War
  7. clip — to cut
  8. root — the cause
  9. pitcher — a jug
  10. key — in music
  11. nail — for a hammer
  12. track — a song
  13. cold — an illness
  14. track — to keep track
  15. pitcher — in baseball
  16. key — the most important part
  17. root — of a word
  18. nail — on a finger
  19. bark — to shout
  20. pitcher — a jug
  21. clip — a video
  22. bark — of a tree
  23. clip — for paper
  24. key — for a lock

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