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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. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  2. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  3. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  4. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  5. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  6. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  7. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  8. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  9. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  10. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  11. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  12. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  13. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  14. This piece is in a major ________________.
  15. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  16. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  17. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  18. I'll be taking the ________________.
  19. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  20. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  21. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  22. The water is too ________________.
  23. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  24. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.

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

Answer key

  1. bear — the animal
  2. cold — an illness
  3. root — of a word
  4. key — for a lock
  5. file — a line of people
  6. key — the most important part
  7. track — to keep track
  8. file — a document
  9. track — a song
  10. bark — of a tree
  11. cold — the Cold War
  12. track — a path
  13. file — a tool
  14. key — in music
  15. root — of a plant
  16. tube — in a tire
  17. bark — to shout
  18. tube — the underground
  19. bear — to put up with
  20. bark — a dog's sound
  21. bear — the animal
  22. cold — not warm
  23. root — the cause
  24. tube — a container

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