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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. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  2. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  3. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  4. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  5. He was locked up in a ________________.
  6. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  7. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  8. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  9. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  10. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  11. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  12. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  13. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  14. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  15. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  16. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  17. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  18. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  19. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  20. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  21. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  22. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  23. The ________________ took off on time.
  24. A ________________ is just a dried plum.

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

Answer key

  1. root — of a word
  2. bark — to shout
  3. chip — in a computer
  4. pit — a fruit stone
  5. cell — in a prison
  6. root — the cause
  7. bark — a dog's sound
  8. bat — the animal
  9. pit — in a race
  10. bark — of a tree
  11. pit — a hole
  12. cell — a phone
  13. bat — in an idiom
  14. plane — in geometry
  15. cell — in biology
  16. root — of a plant
  17. chip — to eat
  18. prune — to trim
  19. prune — to trim
  20. chip — for betting
  21. plane — a tool
  22. bat — for baseball
  23. plane — an aircraft
  24. prune — the fruit

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