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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. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  2. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  3. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  4. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  5. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  6. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  7. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  8. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  9. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  10. She's very handy with a ________________.
  11. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  12. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  13. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  14. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  15. He works in a ________________ mill.
  16. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  17. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  18. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  19. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  20. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  21. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  22. The water is too ________________.
  23. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  24. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bark — a dog's sound
  2. root — of a word
  3. bark — of a tree
  4. spring — a coil
  5. cold — the Cold War
  6. wake — a trail
  7. spring — the season
  8. deal — an agreement
  9. board — a flat piece
  10. saw — the tool
  11. deal — a big deal
  12. root — of a plant
  13. deal — to handle
  14. wake — before a funeral
  15. saw — the tool
  16. cold — an illness
  17. root — the cause
  18. board — a committee
  19. bark — to shout
  20. saw — past of 'see'
  21. board — to get on
  22. cold — not warm
  23. wake — to stop sleeping
  24. spring — of water

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