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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: root · branch · shower · wake · rash · ground · bark · capital

  1. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  2. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  3. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  4. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  5. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  6. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  7. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  8. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  9. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  10. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  11. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  12. Don't do anything ________________.
  13. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  14. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  15. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  16. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  17. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  18. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  19. There's no middle ________________.
  20. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  21. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  22. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  23. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  24. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.

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

Answer key

  1. branch — of a tree
  2. root — of a plant
  3. capital — a city
  4. bark — a dog's sound
  5. ground — the earth
  6. capital — money
  7. wake — before a funeral
  8. rash — on the skin
  9. root — of a word
  10. shower — rain
  11. wake — a trail
  12. rash — hasty
  13. rash — a series
  14. root — the cause
  15. capital — a big letter
  16. ground — crushed
  17. bark — of a tree
  18. branch — a division
  19. ground — a position
  20. shower — to wash
  21. wake — to stop sleeping
  22. bark — to shout
  23. shower — a meteor shower
  24. branch — of a bank

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