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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: can · spring · ground · sharp · root · bark · snap · shower

  1. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  2. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  3. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  4. It's one o'clock ________________.
  5. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  6. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  7. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  8. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  9. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  10. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  11. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  12. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  13. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  14. There's no middle ________________.
  15. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  16. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  17. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  18. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  19. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  20. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  21. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  22. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  23. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  24. Recycle the empty soda ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — of water
  2. root — the cause
  3. spring — the season
  4. sharp — exactly
  5. can — a tin
  6. snap — to click
  7. root — of a plant
  8. bark — to shout
  9. can — to be able to
  10. spring — a coil
  11. ground — crushed
  12. bark — of a tree
  13. root — of a word
  14. ground — a position
  15. bark — a dog's sound
  16. shower — to wash
  17. sharp — clever
  18. ground — the earth
  19. sharp — with an edge
  20. snap — to speak sharply
  21. shower — a meteor shower
  22. shower — rain
  23. snap — to snap out of it
  24. can — a tin

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