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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 116 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: pound · game · mark · bore · bark · root · field · shower

  1. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  2. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  3. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  4. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  5. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  6. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  7. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  8. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  9. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  10. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  11. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  12. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  13. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  14. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  15. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  16. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  17. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  18. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  19. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  20. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  21. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  22. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  23. That was a fun ________________.
  24. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. root — the cause
  2. root — of a plant
  3. field — farmland
  4. mark — to pay attention
  5. game — wild animals
  6. root — of a word
  7. mark — a trace
  8. bark — to shout
  9. pound — for dogs
  10. field — for sport
  11. bark — a dog's sound
  12. mark — a grade
  13. bore — to tire
  14. pound — to hit hard
  15. game — a kind of play
  16. field — a subject
  17. bore — gave birth
  18. shower — rain
  19. pound — a weight
  20. shower — to wash
  21. bark — of a tree
  22. bore — to drill
  23. game — a match
  24. shower — a meteor shower

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