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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: pop · chest · roll · content · bark · plane · spell · root

  1. You don't need to ________________ round.
  2. We're on a ________________ here.
  3. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  4. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  5. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  6. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  7. We're almost out of ________________.
  8. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  9. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  10. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  11. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  12. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  13. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  14. How do you ________________ your surname?
  15. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  16. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  17. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  18. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  19. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  20. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  21. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  22. The ________________ took off on time.
  23. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  24. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.

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

Answer key

  1. pop — to visit
  2. roll — on a roll
  3. bark — of a tree
  4. content — videos and posts
  5. content — the amount
  6. bark — a dog's sound
  7. pop — soda
  8. roll — a cake
  9. roll — a list
  10. spell — magic
  11. chest — of your body
  12. content — happy
  13. plane — in geometry
  14. spell — letters
  15. plane — a tool
  16. chest — of your body
  17. root — of a word
  18. root — the cause
  19. bark — to shout
  20. chest — a box
  21. pop — music
  22. plane — an aircraft
  23. root — of a plant
  24. spell — a short time

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