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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 116 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: drill · root · swing · bound · bat · shower · bark · branch

  1. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  2. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  3. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  4. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  5. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  6. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  7. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  8. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  9. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  10. That was ________________ to happen.
  11. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  12. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  13. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  14. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  15. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  16. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  17. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  18. David sat on the ________________.
  19. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  20. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  21. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  22. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  23. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  24. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.

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

Answer key

  1. root — of a plant
  2. bound — obliged
  3. shower — rain
  4. drill — the tool
  5. bat — the animal
  6. root — of a word
  7. shower — a meteor shower
  8. drill — army training
  9. bark — of a tree
  10. bound — certain
  11. branch — of a bank
  12. branch — of a tree
  13. root — the cause
  14. swing — music
  15. drill — a practice
  16. bark — to shout
  17. bark — a dog's sound
  18. swing — to play on
  19. branch — a division
  20. bat — for baseball
  21. bound — tied together
  22. swing — in golf
  23. shower — to wash
  24. bat — in an idiom

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