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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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Word bank
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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: race · wind · toast · bark · pitcher · root · suit · net

  1. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  2. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  3. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  4. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  5. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  6. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  7. He is an ace ________________.
  8. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  9. When will it ________________ you to start?
  10. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  11. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  12. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  13. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  14. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  15. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  16. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  17. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  18. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  19. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  20. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  21. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  22. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  23. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  24. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.

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

Answer key

  1. toast — a drink to someone
  2. root — the cause
  3. pitcher — a jug
  4. pitcher — a jug
  5. race — humankind
  6. net — for catching
  7. pitcher — in baseball
  8. root — of a word
  9. suit — to fit
  10. toast — the most admired
  11. net — after costs
  12. suit — in cards
  13. race — a contest
  14. net — in sport
  15. race — the arms race
  16. wind — moving air
  17. bark — to shout
  18. bark — a dog's sound
  19. bark — of a tree
  20. suit — clothes
  21. wind — moving air
  22. toast — bread
  23. root — of a plant
  24. wind — to turn a key

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