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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 120 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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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: spring · mine · temple · vault · root · bark · wind · bear

  1. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  2. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  3. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  4. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  5. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  6. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  7. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  8. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  9. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  10. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  11. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  12. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  13. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  14. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  15. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  16. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  17. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  18. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  19. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  20. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  21. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  22. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  23. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  24. When was this ________________ built?

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

Answer key

  1. root — the cause
  2. vault — a safe
  3. spring — a coil
  4. mine — an explosive
  5. wind — to turn a key
  6. bear — the animal
  7. root — of a word
  8. spring — of water
  9. temple — side of the head
  10. vault — an arched ceiling
  11. spring — the season
  12. bear — the animal
  13. mine — for digging
  14. bark — a dog's sound
  15. vault — in gymnastics
  16. bark — to shout
  17. mine — belonging to me
  18. bear — to put up with
  19. root — of a plant
  20. wind — moving air
  21. temple — a place of worship
  22. bark — of a tree
  23. wind — moving air
  24. temple — a place of worship

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