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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. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  2. Don't do anything ________________.
  3. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  4. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  5. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  6. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  7. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  8. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  9. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  10. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  11. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  12. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  13. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  14. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  15. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  16. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  17. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  18. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  19. The ________________ went through the wall.
  20. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  21. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  22. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  23. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  24. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — to tease
  2. rash — hasty
  3. trunk — of a car
  4. rest — what's left
  5. deal — to handle
  6. bark — to shout
  7. root — the cause
  8. bark — a dog's sound
  9. bark — of a tree
  10. root — of a plant
  11. root — of a word
  12. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  13. rash — a series
  14. rest — what's left
  15. trunk — of an elephant
  16. deal — an agreement
  17. trunk — of a tree
  18. nail — for a hammer
  19. nail — for a hammer
  20. deal — a big deal
  21. kid — child
  22. rest — a break
  23. rash — on the skin
  24. nail — on a finger

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