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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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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: mine · date · mate · chest · root · track · bark · wind

  1. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  2. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  3. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  4. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  5. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  6. Have you settled on a ________________?
  7. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  8. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  9. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  10. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  11. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  12. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  13. Have you found your soul ________________?
  14. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  15. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  16. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  17. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  18. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  19. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  20. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  21. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  22. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  23. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  24. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.

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

Answer key

  1. root — the cause
  2. date — the fruit
  3. wind — to turn a key
  4. mine — for digging
  5. track — a path
  6. date — on the calendar
  7. mate — a friend
  8. wind — moving air
  9. mine — an explosive
  10. bark — of a tree
  11. date — on the calendar
  12. chest — of your body
  13. mate — a partner
  14. track — a song
  15. wind — moving air
  16. track — to keep track
  17. chest — a box
  18. mine — belonging to me
  19. bark — to shout
  20. root — of a word
  21. bark — a dog's sound
  22. chest — of your body
  23. mate — to breed
  24. root — of a plant

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