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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: bowl · bark · dip · hide · root · snap · file · land

  1. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  2. When are we going to ________________?
  3. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  4. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  5. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  6. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  7. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  8. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  9. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  10. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  11. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  12. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  13. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  14. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  15. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  16. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  17. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  18. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  19. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  20. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  21. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  22. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  23. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  24. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. snap — to snap out of it
  2. land — to come down
  3. file — a tool
  4. land — a country
  5. dip — a sauce
  6. bowl — a dish
  7. file — a line of people
  8. hide — to keep secret
  9. dip — to sink
  10. root — of a word
  11. dip — to dunk
  12. land — ground
  13. root — the cause
  14. bark — to shout
  15. snap — to click
  16. hide — animal skin
  17. bowl — a football final
  18. hide — to keep secret
  19. file — a document
  20. snap — to speak sharply
  21. bark — a dog's sound
  22. bowl — to roll
  23. root — of a plant
  24. bark — of a tree

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