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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: bowl · chest · wound · root · last · bark · prune · rash

  1. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  2. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  3. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  4. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  5. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  6. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  7. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  8. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  9. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  10. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  11. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  12. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  13. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  14. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  15. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  16. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  17. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  18. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  19. Don't do anything ________________.
  20. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  21. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  22. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  23. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  24. False peace will not ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. root — the cause
  2. last — finally
  3. bark — a dog's sound
  4. chest — a box
  5. bowl — a dish
  6. root — of a plant
  7. last — final
  8. chest — of your body
  9. bowl — to roll
  10. root — of a word
  11. wound — an injury
  12. rash — on the skin
  13. prune — the fruit
  14. bark — of a tree
  15. chest — of your body
  16. wound — an injury
  17. prune — to trim
  18. bowl — a football final
  19. rash — hasty
  20. rash — a series
  21. wound — past of 'wind'
  22. bark — to shout
  23. prune — to trim
  24. last — to go on

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