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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: snap · swing · foot · bark · clip · rash · row · root

  1. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  2. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  3. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  4. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  5. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  6. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  7. Don't do anything ________________.
  8. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  9. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  10. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  11. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  12. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  13. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  14. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  15. David sat on the ________________.
  16. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  17. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  18. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  19. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  20. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  21. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  22. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  23. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  24. I had a ________________ with my boss today.

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

Answer key

  1. snap — to click
  2. swing — in golf
  3. root — of a word
  4. root — of a plant
  5. row — to paddle
  6. clip — a video
  7. rash — hasty
  8. rash — on the skin
  9. row — a line
  10. foot — part of the body
  11. snap — to snap out of it
  12. clip — to cut
  13. bark — to shout
  14. foot — the bottom
  15. swing — to play on
  16. rash — a series
  17. snap — to speak sharply
  18. clip — for paper
  19. bark — of a tree
  20. foot — a measure
  21. root — the cause
  22. bark — a dog's sound
  23. swing — music
  24. row — a quarrel

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