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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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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: racket · bark · court · band · wind · squash · root · wound

  1. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  2. The ball is in your ________________.
  3. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  4. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  5. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  6. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  7. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  8. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  9. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  10. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  11. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  12. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  13. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  14. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  15. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  16. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  17. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  18. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  19. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  20. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  21. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  22. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  23. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  24. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.

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

Answer key

  1. root — the cause
  2. court — for sport
  3. wound — an injury
  4. bark — a dog's sound
  5. bark — to shout
  6. squash — the sport
  7. wound — past of 'wind'
  8. band — a music group
  9. wind — moving air
  10. band — a ring
  11. wind — moving air
  12. root — of a word
  13. root — of a plant
  14. court — of law
  15. racket — for tennis
  16. bark — of a tree
  17. squash — to crush
  18. wind — to turn a key
  19. racket — for tennis
  20. racket — a loud noise
  21. wound — an injury
  22. court — of a king
  23. band — a rubber band
  24. squash — the vegetable

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