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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 124 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. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  2. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  3. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  4. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  5. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  6. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  7. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  8. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  9. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  10. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  11. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  12. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  13. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  14. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  15. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  16. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  17. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  18. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  19. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  20. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  21. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  22. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  23. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  24. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.

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

Answer key

  1. rock — music
  2. snap — to snap out of it
  3. track — a song
  4. present — there
  5. present — a gift
  6. rock — to move gently
  7. snap — to click
  8. root — of a plant
  9. bark — of a tree
  10. mine — an explosive
  11. root — of a word
  12. bark — a dog's sound
  13. track — a path
  14. root — the cause
  15. rock — a stone
  16. pitch — a sports field
  17. pitch — a sales talk
  18. snap — to speak sharply
  19. track — to keep track
  20. mine — belonging to me
  21. present — the time now
  22. bark — to shout
  23. mine — for digging
  24. pitch — completely

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