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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 120 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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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: tear · arm · root · staff · board · bark · cold · sharp

  1. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  2. The water is too ________________.
  3. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  4. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  5. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  6. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  7. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  8. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  9. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  10. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  11. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  12. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  13. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  14. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  15. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  16. It's one o'clock ________________.
  17. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  18. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  19. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  20. My father caught me by the ________________.
  21. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  22. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  23. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  24. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.

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

Answer key

  1. staff — a stick
  2. cold — not warm
  3. staff — employees
  4. bark — of a tree
  5. board — to get on
  6. cold — an illness
  7. sharp — clever
  8. root — of a plant
  9. cold — the Cold War
  10. tear — to rip
  11. bark — to shout
  12. tear — from crying
  13. root — of a word
  14. staff — employees
  15. arm — part of the body
  16. sharp — exactly
  17. board — a flat piece
  18. arm — a part of something
  19. tear — from crying
  20. arm — part of the body
  21. root — the cause
  22. sharp — with an edge
  23. bark — a dog's sound
  24. board — a committee

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