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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: bark · game · bass · root · kick · chest · hand · track

  1. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  2. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  3. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  4. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  5. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  6. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  7. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  8. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  9. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  10. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  11. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  12. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  13. That was a fun ________________.
  14. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  15. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  16. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  17. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  18. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  19. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  20. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  21. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  22. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  23. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  24. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.

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

Answer key

  1. bark — to shout
  2. track — to keep track
  3. root — of a plant
  4. kick — in football
  5. chest — of your body
  6. game — wild animals
  7. kick — a thrill
  8. bark — of a tree
  9. track — a path
  10. hand — help
  11. bark — a dog's sound
  12. chest — of your body
  13. game — a match
  14. bass — the instrument
  15. root — of a word
  16. root — the cause
  17. hand — part of the body
  18. bass — the fish
  19. hand — in cards
  20. chest — a box
  21. track — a song
  22. bass — low music
  23. kick — with a leg
  24. game — a kind of play

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