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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 116 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. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  2. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  3. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  4. Don't do anything ________________.
  5. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  6. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  7. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  8. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  9. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  10. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  11. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  12. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  13. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  14. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  15. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  16. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  17. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  18. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  19. The water is too ________________.
  20. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  21. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  22. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  23. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  24. I seem to be developing a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. row — to paddle
  2. bark — of a tree
  3. spring — the season
  4. rash — hasty
  5. current — happening now
  6. cold — an illness
  7. bark — a dog's sound
  8. bowl — to roll
  9. row — a quarrel
  10. bowl — a football final
  11. spring — of water
  12. root — of a plant
  13. current — electric
  14. bark — to shout
  15. cold — the Cold War
  16. row — a line
  17. root — the cause
  18. bowl — a dish
  19. cold — not warm
  20. rash — a series
  21. root — of a word
  22. spring — a coil
  23. current — of water
  24. rash — on the skin

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