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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. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  2. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  3. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  4. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  5. There's no middle ________________.
  6. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  7. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  8. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  9. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  10. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  11. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  12. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  13. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  14. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  15. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  16. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  17. He is an ace ________________.
  18. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  19. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  20. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  21. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  22. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  23. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  24. Fill up this ________________ with water.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — of water
  2. object — a thing
  3. bark — a dog's sound
  4. root — of a word
  5. ground — a position
  6. ground — the earth
  7. perch — the fish
  8. spring — the season
  9. perch — for a bird
  10. bark — of a tree
  11. object — to protest
  12. perch — for a bird
  13. squash — the vegetable
  14. pitcher — a jug
  15. spring — a coil
  16. ground — crushed
  17. pitcher — in baseball
  18. bark — to shout
  19. squash — the sport
  20. object — an aim
  21. root — of a plant
  22. root — the cause
  23. squash — to crush
  24. pitcher — a jug

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