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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. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  2. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  3. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  4. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  5. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  6. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  7. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  8. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  9. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  10. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  11. That was a fun ________________.
  12. Did you ________________ the meat?
  13. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  14. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  15. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  16. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  17. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  18. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  19. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  20. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  21. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  22. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  23. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  24. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. season — of the year
  2. bark — to shout
  3. march — the month
  4. bark — of a tree
  5. stem — of a plant
  6. pound — a weight
  7. game — wild animals
  8. pound — to hit hard
  9. bark — a dog's sound
  10. root — of a word
  11. game — a match
  12. season — to add flavour
  13. root — of a plant
  14. march — music
  15. stem — a stem cell
  16. shower — rain
  17. march — the month
  18. root — the cause
  19. shower — to wash
  20. pound — for dogs
  21. game — a kind of play
  22. shower — a meteor shower
  23. stem — to come from
  24. season — in sport

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