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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: root · staff · sharp · face · cold · stick · bark · mine

  1. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  2. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  3. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  4. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  5. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  6. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  7. The water is too ________________.
  8. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  9. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  10. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  11. It's one o'clock ________________.
  12. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  13. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  14. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  15. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  16. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  17. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  18. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  19. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  20. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  21. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  22. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  23. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  24. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. sharp — clever
  2. mine — belonging to me
  3. root — of a plant
  4. mine — for digging
  5. sharp — with an edge
  6. staff — employees
  7. cold — not warm
  8. staff — a stick
  9. stick — to attach or keep to
  10. cold — the Cold War
  11. sharp — exactly
  12. stick — a piece of wood
  13. mine — an explosive
  14. face — part of the head
  15. root — of a word
  16. cold — an illness
  17. bark — of a tree
  18. bark — a dog's sound
  19. face — to confront
  20. staff — employees
  21. face — to point toward
  22. bark — to shout
  23. root — the cause
  24. stick — a piece of wood

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