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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 · kid · fine · bark · cold · rash · drill · mouse

  1. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  2. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  3. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  4. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  5. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  6. Don't do anything ________________.
  7. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  8. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  9. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  10. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  11. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  12. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  13. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  14. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  15. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  16. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  17. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  18. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  19. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  20. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  21. The water is too ________________.
  22. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  23. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  24. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.

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

Answer key

  1. bark — of a tree
  2. fine — a penalty
  3. bark — a dog's sound
  4. mouse — the animal
  5. drill — the tool
  6. rash — hasty
  7. kid — to tease
  8. mouse — the animal
  9. mouse — for a computer
  10. bark — to shout
  11. fine — high quality
  12. drill — a practice
  13. rash — a series
  14. root — of a word
  15. root — of a plant
  16. rash — on the skin
  17. cold — an illness
  18. fine — all right
  19. kid — child
  20. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  21. cold — not warm
  22. cold — the Cold War
  23. drill — army training
  24. root — the cause

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