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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 water is too ________________.
  2. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  3. Don't do anything ________________.
  4. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  5. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  6. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  7. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  8. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  9. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  10. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  11. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  12. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  13. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  14. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  15. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  16. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  17. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  18. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  19. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  20. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  21. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  22. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  23. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  24. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — not warm
  2. root — of a plant
  3. rash — hasty
  4. bark — of a tree
  5. rash — on the skin
  6. pitch — a sales talk
  7. wax — in the ear
  8. bark — to shout
  9. pitch — completely
  10. bark — a dog's sound
  11. pound — a weight
  12. track — to keep track
  13. track — a song
  14. rash — a series
  15. track — a path
  16. cold — the Cold War
  17. cold — an illness
  18. root — of a word
  19. pound — to hit hard
  20. root — the cause
  21. pound — for dogs
  22. pitch — a sports field
  23. wax — to grow
  24. wax — for sculpting

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