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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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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: root · bark · fork · racket · rule · pop · wake · cold

  1. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  2. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  3. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  4. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  5. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  6. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  7. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  8. The water is too ________________.
  9. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  10. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  11. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  12. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  13. We're almost out of ________________.
  14. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  15. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  16. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  17. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  18. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  19. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  20. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  21. You don't need to ________________ round.
  22. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  23. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  24. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.

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

Answer key

  1. wake — to stop sleeping
  2. rule — government
  3. pop — music
  4. wake — before a funeral
  5. cold — the Cold War
  6. bark — a dog's sound
  7. bark — to shout
  8. cold — not warm
  9. cold — an illness
  10. root — of a plant
  11. wake — a trail
  12. root — the cause
  13. pop — soda
  14. racket — for tennis
  15. rule — to rule out
  16. fork — in a road
  17. rule — a law
  18. root — of a word
  19. racket — for tennis
  20. fork — to eat with
  21. pop — to visit
  22. bark — of a tree
  23. racket — a loud noise
  24. fork — a garden tool

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