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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. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  2. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  3. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  4. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  5. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  6. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  7. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  8. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  9. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  10. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  11. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  12. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  13. He is an ace ________________.
  14. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  15. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  16. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  17. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  18. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  19. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  20. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  21. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  22. When was this ________________ built?
  23. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  24. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. root — the cause
  2. bark — a dog's sound
  3. spring — of water
  4. spring — the season
  5. root — of a word
  6. object — a thing
  7. object — to protest
  8. straw — to clutch at straws
  9. chest — of your body
  10. spring — a coil
  11. straw — a straw man
  12. object — an aim
  13. pitcher — in baseball
  14. pitcher — a jug
  15. temple — side of the head
  16. root — of a plant
  17. straw — dry grass
  18. bark — to shout
  19. temple — a place of worship
  20. chest — of your body
  21. chest — a box
  22. temple — a place of worship
  23. pitcher — a jug
  24. bark — of a tree

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