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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. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  2. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  3. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  4. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  5. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  6. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  7. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  8. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  9. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  10. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  11. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  12. The King held a masked ________________.
  13. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  14. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  15. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  16. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  17. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  18. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  19. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  20. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  21. That was ________________ to happen.
  22. When was this ________________ built?
  23. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  24. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.

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

Answer key

  1. racket — for tennis
  2. spring — the season
  3. hand — part of the body
  4. hand — in cards
  5. bound — tied together
  6. ball — a great time
  7. hand — help
  8. root — the cause
  9. spring — a coil
  10. bark — a dog's sound
  11. bark — of a tree
  12. ball — a dance
  13. racket — for tennis
  14. root — of a plant
  15. bound — obliged
  16. ball — a round shape
  17. root — of a word
  18. racket — a loud noise
  19. temple — side of the head
  20. spring — of water
  21. bound — certain
  22. temple — a place of worship
  23. temple — a place of worship
  24. bark — to shout

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