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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: bark · snap · fall · root · net · wound · content · kick

  1. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  2. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  3. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  4. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  5. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  6. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  7. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  8. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  9. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  10. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  11. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  12. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  13. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  14. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  15. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  16. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  17. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  18. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  19. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  20. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  21. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  22. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  23. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  24. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.

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

Answer key

  1. root — of a plant
  2. snap — to speak sharply
  3. kick — with a leg
  4. fall — to drop
  5. net — in sport
  6. net — after costs
  7. snap — to click
  8. kick — in football
  9. wound — an injury
  10. net — for catching
  11. content — happy
  12. kick — a thrill
  13. bark — a dog's sound
  14. fall — the season
  15. bark — of a tree
  16. content — videos and posts
  17. root — of a word
  18. wound — past of 'wind'
  19. wound — an injury
  20. fall — to drop
  21. bark — to shout
  22. snap — to snap out of it
  23. content — the amount
  24. root — the cause

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