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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. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  2. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  3. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  4. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  5. He works in a ________________ mill.
  6. She's very handy with a ________________.
  7. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  8. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  9. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  10. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  11. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  12. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  13. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  14. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  15. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  16. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  17. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  18. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  19. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  20. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  21. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  22. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  23. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  24. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.

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

Answer key

  1. snap — to click
  2. bark — a dog's sound
  3. root — of a word
  4. root — of a plant
  5. saw — the tool
  6. saw — the tool
  7. wind — to turn a key
  8. jam — in traffic
  9. row — to paddle
  10. wind — moving air
  11. bark — to shout
  12. bark — of a tree
  13. saw — past of 'see'
  14. jam — a tight spot
  15. root — the cause
  16. pound — to hit hard
  17. jam — to spread on bread
  18. row — a quarrel
  19. pound — for dogs
  20. snap — to speak sharply
  21. snap — to snap out of it
  22. pound — a weight
  23. row — a line
  24. wind — moving air

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