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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. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  2. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  3. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  4. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  5. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  6. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  7. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  8. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  9. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  10. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  11. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  12. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  13. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  14. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  15. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  16. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  17. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  18. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  19. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  20. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  21. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  22. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  23. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  24. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bark — of a tree
  2. leaves — to go away
  3. clip — to cut
  4. leaves — lets stay
  5. wax — to grow
  6. root — of a plant
  7. clip — a video
  8. content — the amount
  9. root — the cause
  10. leaves — of a tree
  11. bark — a dog's sound
  12. bark — to shout
  13. lean — to bend
  14. content — happy
  15. degree — temperature
  16. root — of a word
  17. wax — for sculpting
  18. lean — thin
  19. lean — to rest against
  20. degree — from a university
  21. degree — an amount
  22. clip — for paper
  23. wax — in the ear
  24. content — videos and posts

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