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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 120 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. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  2. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  3. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  4. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  5. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  6. She's very handy with a ________________.
  7. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  8. He works in a ________________ mill.
  9. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  10. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  11. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  12. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  13. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  14. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  15. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  16. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  17. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  18. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  19. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  20. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  21. There's no middle ________________.
  22. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  23. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  24. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.

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

Answer key

  1. bark — of a tree
  2. ground — crushed
  3. face — part of the head
  4. bat — in an idiom
  5. fork — to eat with
  6. saw — the tool
  7. bark — a dog's sound
  8. saw — the tool
  9. bat — the animal
  10. saw — past of 'see'
  11. root — of a word
  12. race — a contest
  13. bark — to shout
  14. race — the arms race
  15. fork — in a road
  16. face — to confront
  17. fork — a garden tool
  18. race — humankind
  19. ground — the earth
  20. root — the cause
  21. ground — a position
  22. face — to point toward
  23. root — of a plant
  24. bat — for baseball

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