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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: wake · dip · bark · root · last · rush · net · race

  1. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  2. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  3. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  4. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  5. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  6. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  7. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  8. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  9. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  10. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  11. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  12. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  13. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  14. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  15. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  16. That must've been a ________________.
  17. False peace will not ________________.
  18. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  19. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  20. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  21. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  22. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  23. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  24. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.

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

Answer key

  1. net — for catching
  2. last — final
  3. rush — hurry
  4. net — after costs
  5. wake — to stop sleeping
  6. root — the cause
  7. dip — to dunk
  8. dip — to sink
  9. net — in sport
  10. wake — a trail
  11. root — of a plant
  12. rush — to hurry
  13. bark — of a tree
  14. last — finally
  15. race — humankind
  16. rush — a thrill
  17. last — to go on
  18. race — the arms race
  19. dip — a sauce
  20. bark — a dog's sound
  21. wake — before a funeral
  22. bark — to shout
  23. root — of a word
  24. race — a contest

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