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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. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  2. That was a fun ________________.
  3. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  4. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  5. Did you ________________ the meat?
  6. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  7. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  8. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  9. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  10. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  11. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  12. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  13. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  14. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  15. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  16. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  17. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  18. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  19. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  20. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  21. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  22. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  23. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  24. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.

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

Answer key

  1. bark — of a tree
  2. game — a match
  3. game — a kind of play
  4. trunk — of a tree
  5. season — to add flavour
  6. row — a quarrel
  7. season — in sport
  8. cue — a signal
  9. ruler — for measuring
  10. trunk — of an elephant
  11. season — of the year
  12. trunk — of a car
  13. root — of a word
  14. bark — to shout
  15. cue — for pool
  16. ruler — a monarch
  17. cue — a hint
  18. root — of a plant
  19. row — a line
  20. row — to paddle
  21. bark — a dog's sound
  22. game — wild animals
  23. root — the cause
  24. ruler — for measuring

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