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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. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  2. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  3. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  4. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  5. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  6. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  7. David sat on the ________________.
  8. That was a fun ________________.
  9. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  10. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  11. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  12. False peace will not ________________.
  13. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  14. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  15. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  16. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  17. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  18. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  19. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  20. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  21. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  22. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  23. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  24. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.

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

Answer key

  1. staff — a stick
  2. root — of a word
  3. bark — a dog's sound
  4. last — finally
  5. root — the cause
  6. game — a kind of play
  7. swing — to play on
  8. game — a match
  9. mouse — the animal
  10. swing — music
  11. mouse — the animal
  12. last — to go on
  13. bark — of a tree
  14. bore — to tire
  15. mouse — for a computer
  16. staff — employees
  17. bore — gave birth
  18. game — wild animals
  19. swing — in golf
  20. root — of a plant
  21. bore — to drill
  22. last — final
  23. staff — employees
  24. bark — to shout

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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