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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 · mouse · bat · bound · bark · chest · court · sharp

  1. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  2. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  3. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  4. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  5. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  6. The ball is in your ________________.
  7. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  8. That was ________________ to happen.
  9. It's one o'clock ________________.
  10. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  11. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  12. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  13. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  14. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  15. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  16. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  17. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  18. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  19. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  20. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  21. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  22. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  23. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  24. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bark — of a tree
  2. root — the cause
  3. bark — to shout
  4. chest — a box
  5. bound — obliged
  6. court — for sport
  7. mouse — the animal
  8. bound — certain
  9. sharp — exactly
  10. mouse — for a computer
  11. root — of a word
  12. sharp — with an edge
  13. bark — a dog's sound
  14. chest — of your body
  15. chest — of your body
  16. court — of a king
  17. bound — tied together
  18. court — of law
  19. sharp — clever
  20. root — of a plant
  21. bat — for baseball
  22. bat — in an idiom
  23. bat — the animal
  24. mouse — the animal

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