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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: root · snap · bark · cold · object · pitcher · squash · chip

  1. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  2. The water is too ________________.
  3. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  4. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  5. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  6. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  7. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  8. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  9. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  10. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  11. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  12. He is an ace ________________.
  13. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  14. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  15. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  16. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  17. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  18. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  19. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  20. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  21. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  22. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  23. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  24. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.

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

Answer key

  1. object — to protest
  2. cold — not warm
  3. bark — to shout
  4. bark — a dog's sound
  5. cold — an illness
  6. snap — to snap out of it
  7. snap — to click
  8. root — of a word
  9. chip — to eat
  10. bark — of a tree
  11. object — a thing
  12. pitcher — in baseball
  13. chip — in a computer
  14. root — of a plant
  15. root — the cause
  16. pitcher — a jug
  17. squash — the sport
  18. chip — for betting
  19. cold — the Cold War
  20. snap — to speak sharply
  21. object — an aim
  22. pitcher — a jug
  23. squash — the vegetable
  24. squash — to crush

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