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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. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  2. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  3. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  4. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  5. When was this ________________ built?
  6. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  7. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  8. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  9. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  10. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  11. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  12. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  13. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  14. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  15. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  16. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  17. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  18. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  19. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  20. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  21. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  22. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  23. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  24. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.

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

Answer key

  1. wake — before a funeral
  2. rest — a break
  3. bark — a dog's sound
  4. field — for sport
  5. temple — a place of worship
  6. root — the cause
  7. wake — a trail
  8. bark — to shout
  9. drill — the tool
  10. wake — to stop sleeping
  11. temple — a place of worship
  12. rest — what's left
  13. root — of a plant
  14. bark — of a tree
  15. snap — to speak sharply
  16. field — a subject
  17. root — of a word
  18. snap — to snap out of it
  19. drill — a practice
  20. snap — to click
  21. rest — what's left
  22. field — farmland
  23. temple — side of the head
  24. drill — army training

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