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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: hand · foot · mug · bark · root · pop · sharp · club

  1. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  2. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  3. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  4. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  5. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  6. You don't need to ________________ round.
  7. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  8. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  9. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  10. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  11. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  12. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  13. We're almost out of ________________.
  14. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  15. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  16. It's one o'clock ________________.
  17. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  18. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  19. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  20. Where did you ________________ them?
  21. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  22. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  23. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  24. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.

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

Answer key

  1. hand — help
  2. hand — part of the body
  3. pop — music
  4. sharp — clever
  5. club — a group
  6. pop — to visit
  7. bark — to shout
  8. mug — a cup
  9. club — for golf
  10. hand — in cards
  11. mug — a face
  12. foot — the bottom
  13. pop — soda
  14. bark — a dog's sound
  15. foot — a measure
  16. sharp — exactly
  17. root — of a word
  18. root — the cause
  19. sharp — with an edge
  20. mug — to rob
  21. root — of a plant
  22. foot — part of the body
  23. bark — of a tree
  24. club — for dancing

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