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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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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: bank · safe · pitcher · last · bark · kid · root · foot

  1. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  2. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  3. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  4. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  5. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  6. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  7. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  8. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  9. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  10. He is an ace ________________.
  11. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  12. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  13. False peace will not ________________.
  14. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  15. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  16. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  17. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  18. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  19. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  20. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  21. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  22. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  23. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  24. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. root — of a word
  2. pitcher — a jug
  3. foot — a measure
  4. root — of a plant
  5. root — the cause
  6. kid — child
  7. foot — the bottom
  8. pitcher — a jug
  9. safe — a strongbox
  10. pitcher — in baseball
  11. last — final
  12. foot — part of the body
  13. last — to go on
  14. bank — for money
  15. kid — to tease
  16. safe — out of danger
  17. bark — a dog's sound
  18. last — finally
  19. bark — to shout
  20. bark — of a tree
  21. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  22. safe — out of danger
  23. bank — for money
  24. bank — of a river

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