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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 need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  2. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  3. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  4. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  5. He is an ace ________________.
  6. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  7. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  8. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  9. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  10. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  11. Have you met the new head ________________?
  12. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  13. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  14. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  15. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  16. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  17. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  18. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  19. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  20. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  21. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  22. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  23. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  24. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.

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

Answer key

  1. root — the cause
  2. spring — the season
  3. spring — of water
  4. bark — of a tree
  5. pitcher — in baseball
  6. wind — moving air
  7. spring — a coil
  8. pitcher — a jug
  9. bark — a dog's sound
  10. root — of a word
  11. coach — a trainer
  12. wind — to turn a key
  13. coach — a trainer
  14. wind — moving air
  15. kid — to tease
  16. kid — child
  17. patient — a sick person
  18. patient — a sick person
  19. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  20. coach — pulled by horses
  21. bark — to shout
  22. pitcher — a jug
  23. patient — calm and waiting
  24. root — of a plant

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