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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. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  2. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  3. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  4. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  5. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  6. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  7. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  8. I'll be taking the ________________.
  9. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  10. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  11. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  12. When are we going to ________________?
  13. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  14. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  15. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  16. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  17. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  18. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  19. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  20. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  21. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  22. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  23. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  24. I play ________________ in a jazz band.

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

Answer key

  1. bark — of a tree
  2. fine — all right
  3. snap — to speak sharply
  4. tube — a container
  5. snap — to click
  6. pound — for dogs
  7. root — of a word
  8. tube — the underground
  9. bark — a dog's sound
  10. snap — to snap out of it
  11. pound — to hit hard
  12. land — to come down
  13. bass — low music
  14. fine — a penalty
  15. root — the cause
  16. land — ground
  17. bark — to shout
  18. tube — in a tire
  19. pound — a weight
  20. root — of a plant
  21. land — a country
  22. bass — the fish
  23. fine — high quality
  24. bass — the instrument

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