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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: land · patient · pound · sharp · spell · bark · swing · root

  1. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  2. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  3. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  4. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  5. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  6. When are we going to ________________?
  7. How do you ________________ your surname?
  8. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  9. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  10. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  11. It's one o'clock ________________.
  12. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  13. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  14. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  15. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  16. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  17. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  18. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  19. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  20. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  21. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  22. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  23. David sat on the ________________.
  24. He's quite ________________, isn't he?

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

Answer key

  1. land — a country
  2. patient — a sick person
  3. bark — of a tree
  4. pound — a weight
  5. pound — for dogs
  6. land — to come down
  7. spell — letters
  8. bark — a dog's sound
  9. swing — in golf
  10. root — of a word
  11. sharp — exactly
  12. pound — to hit hard
  13. root — of a plant
  14. spell — magic
  15. root — the cause
  16. spell — a short time
  17. sharp — with an edge
  18. land — ground
  19. swing — music
  20. patient — calm and waiting
  21. bark — to shout
  22. patient — a sick person
  23. swing — to play on
  24. sharp — clever

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