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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. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  2. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  3. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  4. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  5. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  6. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  7. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  8. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  9. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  10. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  11. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  12. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  13. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  14. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  15. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  16. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  17. Don't do anything ________________.
  18. Where did you ________________ them?
  19. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  20. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  21. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  22. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  23. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  24. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — to tease
  2. bark — a dog's sound
  3. root — of a word
  4. wind — moving air
  5. rash — on the skin
  6. lean — thin
  7. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  8. rash — a series
  9. kid — child
  10. bark — of a tree
  11. wind — to turn a key
  12. root — the cause
  13. bark — to shout
  14. lean — to bend
  15. mug — a face
  16. degree — an amount
  17. rash — hasty
  18. mug — to rob
  19. degree — from a university
  20. mug — a cup
  21. wind — moving air
  22. degree — temperature
  23. root — of a plant
  24. lean — to rest against

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