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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 120 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. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  3. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  4. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  5. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  6. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  7. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  8. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  9. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  10. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  11. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  12. Have you found your soul ________________?
  13. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  14. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  15. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  16. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  17. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  18. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  19. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  20. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  21. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  22. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  23. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  24. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.

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

Answer key

  1. bark — of a tree
  2. mate — to breed
  3. chest — of your body
  4. bark — to shout
  5. rest — what's left
  6. band — a rubber band
  7. band — a music group
  8. rest — what's left
  9. shower — rain
  10. shower — a meteor shower
  11. bark — a dog's sound
  12. mate — a partner
  13. root — the cause
  14. band — a ring
  15. mate — a friend
  16. shower — to wash
  17. dip — to sink
  18. root — of a plant
  19. rest — a break
  20. chest — a box
  21. root — of a word
  22. dip — to dunk
  23. dip — a sauce
  24. chest — of your body

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