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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. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  3. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  4. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  5. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  6. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  7. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  8. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  9. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  10. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  11. It's one o'clock ________________.
  12. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  13. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  14. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  15. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  16. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  17. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  18. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  19. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  20. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  21. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  22. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  23. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  24. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.

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

Answer key

  1. root — of a word
  2. sharp — clever
  3. dip — a sauce
  4. bark — a dog's sound
  5. row — a quarrel
  6. dip — to sink
  7. row — to paddle
  8. dip — to dunk
  9. stem — of a plant
  10. track — a song
  11. sharp — exactly
  12. trunk — of an elephant
  13. row — a line
  14. track — to keep track
  15. root — of a plant
  16. bark — of a tree
  17. track — a path
  18. bark — to shout
  19. stem — to come from
  20. sharp — with an edge
  21. trunk — of a tree
  22. stem — a stem cell
  23. trunk — of a car
  24. root — the cause

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