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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: bark · root · season · chest · sharp · squash · last · pop

  1. We're almost out of ________________.
  2. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  3. You don't need to ________________ round.
  4. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  5. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  6. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  7. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  8. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  9. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  10. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  11. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  12. Did you ________________ the meat?
  13. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  14. False peace will not ________________.
  15. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  16. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  17. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  18. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  19. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  20. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  21. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  22. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  23. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  24. It's one o'clock ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pop — soda
  2. root — of a word
  3. pop — to visit
  4. bark — of a tree
  5. last — final
  6. squash — the sport
  7. root — of a plant
  8. chest — of your body
  9. squash — the vegetable
  10. chest — of your body
  11. bark — a dog's sound
  12. season — to add flavour
  13. last — finally
  14. last — to go on
  15. root — the cause
  16. squash — to crush
  17. chest — a box
  18. season — of the year
  19. sharp — with an edge
  20. season — in sport
  21. pop — music
  22. bark — to shout
  23. sharp — clever
  24. sharp — exactly

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