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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. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  2. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  3. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  4. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  5. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  6. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  7. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  8. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  9. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  10. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  11. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  12. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  13. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  14. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  15. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  16. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  17. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  18. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  19. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  20. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  21. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  22. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  23. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  24. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.

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

Answer key

  1. present — a gift
  2. trunk — of a car
  3. lean — to rest against
  4. chip — in a computer
  5. lean — thin
  6. root — of a plant
  7. shower — rain
  8. shower — to wash
  9. trunk — of an elephant
  10. shower — a meteor shower
  11. spring — of water
  12. root — the cause
  13. present — the time now
  14. chip — for betting
  15. trunk — of a tree
  16. present — there
  17. bark — of a tree
  18. spring — a coil
  19. bark — to shout
  20. bark — a dog's sound
  21. root — of a word
  22. chip — to eat
  23. spring — the season
  24. lean — to bend

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