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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 sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  3. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  4. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  5. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  6. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  7. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  8. The light ________________ burned out.
  9. It's one o'clock ________________.
  10. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  11. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  12. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  13. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  14. I've got to change the light ________________.
  15. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  16. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  17. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  18. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  19. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  20. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  21. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  22. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  23. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  24. Check the label for the sugar ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bark — of a tree
  2. bark — to shout
  3. root — of a word
  4. content — happy
  5. wake — to stop sleeping
  6. wake — a trail
  7. march — the month
  8. bulb — for light
  9. sharp — exactly
  10. wake — before a funeral
  11. trunk — of a car
  12. root — the cause
  13. march — the month
  14. bulb — for light
  15. sharp — with an edge
  16. bulb — of a plant
  17. content — videos and posts
  18. trunk — of an elephant
  19. sharp — clever
  20. root — of a plant
  21. bark — a dog's sound
  22. march — music
  23. trunk — of a tree
  24. content — the amount

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