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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: ground · bark · root · swing · wake · kid · temple · perch

  1. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  2. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  3. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  4. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  5. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  6. David sat on the ________________.
  7. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  8. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  9. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  10. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  11. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  12. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  13. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  14. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  15. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  16. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  17. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  18. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  19. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  20. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  21. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  22. There's no middle ________________.
  23. When was this ________________ built?
  24. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bark — of a tree
  2. swing — music
  3. perch — for a bird
  4. kid — to tease
  5. bark — a dog's sound
  6. swing — to play on
  7. perch — for a bird
  8. ground — crushed
  9. root — of a word
  10. bark — to shout
  11. root — the cause
  12. temple — side of the head
  13. root — of a plant
  14. wake — to stop sleeping
  15. wake — a trail
  16. ground — the earth
  17. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  18. swing — in golf
  19. perch — the fish
  20. wake — before a funeral
  21. temple — a place of worship
  22. ground — a position
  23. temple — a place of worship
  24. kid — child

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