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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: court · mug · bark · rush · spring · squash · track · root

  1. The ball is in your ________________.
  2. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  3. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  4. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  5. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  6. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  7. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  8. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  9. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  10. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  11. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  12. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  13. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  14. Where did you ________________ them?
  15. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  16. That must've been a ________________.
  17. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  18. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  19. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  20. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  21. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  22. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  23. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  24. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.

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

Answer key

  1. court — for sport
  2. bark — of a tree
  3. track — a path
  4. squash — the sport
  5. bark — a dog's sound
  6. track — to keep track
  7. bark — to shout
  8. mug — a cup
  9. squash — the vegetable
  10. court — of law
  11. spring — the season
  12. rush — hurry
  13. root — the cause
  14. mug — to rob
  15. track — a song
  16. rush — a thrill
  17. rush — to hurry
  18. squash — to crush
  19. root — of a word
  20. mug — a face
  21. spring — a coil
  22. root — of a plant
  23. spring — of water
  24. court — of a king

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