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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: squash · bass · ball · root · land · tear · spell · bark

  1. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  2. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  3. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  4. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  5. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  6. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  7. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  8. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  9. The King held a masked ________________.
  10. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  11. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  12. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  13. How do you ________________ your surname?
  14. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  15. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  16. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  17. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  18. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  19. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  20. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  21. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  22. When are we going to ________________?
  23. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  24. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.

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

Answer key

  1. bark — of a tree
  2. land — a country
  3. bass — low music
  4. bass — the fish
  5. tear — from crying
  6. root — the cause
  7. tear — to rip
  8. ball — a round shape
  9. ball — a dance
  10. ball — a great time
  11. tear — from crying
  12. spell — magic
  13. spell — letters
  14. squash — to crush
  15. land — ground
  16. squash — the sport
  17. bass — the instrument
  18. squash — the vegetable
  19. root — of a plant
  20. bark — to shout
  21. bark — a dog's sound
  22. land — to come down
  23. root — of a word
  24. spell — a short time

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