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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: mug · root · mine · tear · leaves · bark · drill · kid

  1. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  2. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  3. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  4. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  5. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  6. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  7. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  8. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  9. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  10. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  11. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  12. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  13. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  14. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  15. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  16. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  17. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  18. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  19. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  20. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  21. Where did you ________________ them?
  22. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  23. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  24. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — to tease
  2. bark — of a tree
  3. drill — a practice
  4. mine — belonging to me
  5. mine — for digging
  6. tear — from crying
  7. drill — army training
  8. tear — to rip
  9. bark — a dog's sound
  10. drill — the tool
  11. root — the cause
  12. tear — from crying
  13. leaves — lets stay
  14. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  15. mug — a face
  16. leaves — to go away
  17. mug — a cup
  18. mine — an explosive
  19. bark — to shout
  20. leaves — of a tree
  21. mug — to rob
  22. kid — child
  23. root — of a plant
  24. root — of a word

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