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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. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  2. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  3. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  4. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  5. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  6. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  7. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  8. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  9. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  10. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  11. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  12. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  13. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  14. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  15. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  16. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  17. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  18. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  19. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  20. Have you found your soul ________________?
  21. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  22. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  23. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  24. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — a coil
  2. bark — a dog's sound
  3. branch — of a tree
  4. snap — to speak sharply
  5. bark — to shout
  6. snap — to snap out of it
  7. shower — rain
  8. root — the cause
  9. shower — a meteor shower
  10. bark — of a tree
  11. shower — to wash
  12. root — of a plant
  13. root — of a word
  14. snap — to click
  15. mate — a friend
  16. mate — to breed
  17. branch — a division
  18. spring — of water
  19. content — the amount
  20. mate — a partner
  21. content — videos and posts
  22. spring — the season
  23. branch — of a bank
  24. content — happy

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