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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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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. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  2. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  3. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  4. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  5. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  6. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  7. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  8. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  9. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  10. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  11. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  12. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  13. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  14. There's no middle ________________.
  15. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  16. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  17. That was a fun ________________.
  18. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  19. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  20. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  21. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  22. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  23. It's one o'clock ________________.
  24. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.

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

Answer key

  1. ground — crushed
  2. game — a kind of play
  3. bark — to shout
  4. bank — of a river
  5. spring — the season
  6. row — a line
  7. ground — the earth
  8. sharp — with an edge
  9. bank — for money
  10. root — of a plant
  11. bark — of a tree
  12. bark — a dog's sound
  13. spring — of water
  14. ground — a position
  15. game — wild animals
  16. row — to paddle
  17. game — a match
  18. bank — for money
  19. row — a quarrel
  20. sharp — clever
  21. root — the cause
  22. spring — a coil
  23. sharp — exactly
  24. root — of a word

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