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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. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  2. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  3. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  4. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  5. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  6. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  7. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  8. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  9. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  10. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  11. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  12. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  13. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  14. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  15. I'll be taking the ________________.
  16. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  17. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  18. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  19. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  20. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  21. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  22. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  23. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  24. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.

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

Answer key

  1. bark — to shout
  2. field — a subject
  3. bark — of a tree
  4. row — a line
  5. bark — a dog's sound
  6. wave — a sudden rise
  7. field — for sport
  8. root — of a word
  9. hide — animal skin
  10. row — a quarrel
  11. tube — a container
  12. wave — with your hand
  13. tube — in a tire
  14. field — farmland
  15. tube — the underground
  16. hide — to keep secret
  17. root — of a plant
  18. file — a document
  19. file — a tool
  20. hide — to keep secret
  21. wave — of the sea
  22. row — to paddle
  23. file — a line of people
  24. root — the cause

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