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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 · coach · pound · scale · present · hand · root · spring

  1. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  2. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  3. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  4. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  5. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  6. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  7. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  8. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  9. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  10. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  11. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  12. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  13. Have you met the new head ________________?
  14. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  15. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  16. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  17. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  18. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  19. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  20. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  21. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  22. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  23. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  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. coach — pulled by horses
  2. scale — for weighing
  3. bark — to shout
  4. bark — a dog's sound
  5. bark — of a tree
  6. spring — the season
  7. scale — size or range
  8. pound — for dogs
  9. root — of a word
  10. scale — in music
  11. hand — part of the body
  12. pound — to hit hard
  13. coach — a trainer
  14. root — of a plant
  15. spring — a coil
  16. hand — help
  17. hand — in cards
  18. present — there
  19. coach — a trainer
  20. present — the time now
  21. pound — a weight
  22. spring — of water
  23. present — a gift
  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