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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. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  2. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  3. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  4. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  5. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  6. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  7. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  8. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  9. How do you ________________ your surname?
  10. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  11. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  12. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  13. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  14. I can't ________________ this cold.
  15. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  16. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  17. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  18. He works in a ________________ mill.
  19. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  20. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  21. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  22. She's very handy with a ________________.
  23. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  24. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.

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

Answer key

  1. track — a path
  2. racket — for tennis
  3. track — a song
  4. root — the cause
  5. root — of a plant
  6. band — a rubber band
  7. bark — of a tree
  8. stand — on your feet
  9. spell — letters
  10. bark — to shout
  11. racket — for tennis
  12. root — of a word
  13. saw — past of 'see'
  14. stand — to bear
  15. bark — a dog's sound
  16. racket — a loud noise
  17. band — a ring
  18. saw — the tool
  19. spell — magic
  20. track — to keep track
  21. stand — for spectators
  22. saw — the tool
  23. band — a music group
  24. spell — a short time

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