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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: bay · bark · root · cell · face · wave · wake · spring

  1. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  2. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  3. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  4. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  5. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  6. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  7. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  8. He was locked up in a ________________.
  9. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  10. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  11. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  12. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  13. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  14. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  15. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  16. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  17. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  18. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  19. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  20. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  21. My mare is ________________ in color.
  22. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  23. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  24. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.

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

Answer key

  1. wave — of the sea
  2. wake — before a funeral
  3. face — to point toward
  4. wave — with your hand
  5. bark — a dog's sound
  6. spring — of water
  7. spring — a coil
  8. cell — in a prison
  9. bark — to shout
  10. wave — a sudden rise
  11. face — to confront
  12. bay — to keep at bay
  13. bay — a part of the sea
  14. root — the cause
  15. cell — a phone
  16. wake — a trail
  17. root — of a word
  18. root — of a plant
  19. cell — in biology
  20. spring — the season
  21. bay — a horse colour
  22. face — part of the head
  23. bark — of a tree
  24. wake — to stop sleeping

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