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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: kid · plane · field · bark · chip · clip · root · current

  1. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  2. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  3. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  4. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  5. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  6. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  7. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  8. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  9. The ________________ took off on time.
  10. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  11. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  12. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  13. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  14. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  15. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  16. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  17. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  18. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  19. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  20. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  21. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  22. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  23. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  24. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. root — of a plant
  2. bark — of a tree
  3. chip — for betting
  4. current — of water
  5. clip — to cut
  6. chip — in a computer
  7. root — of a word
  8. plane — in geometry
  9. plane — an aircraft
  10. current — electric
  11. field — farmland
  12. plane — a tool
  13. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  14. bark — to shout
  15. kid — to tease
  16. root — the cause
  17. field — a subject
  18. chip — to eat
  19. current — happening now
  20. clip — for paper
  21. kid — child
  22. clip — a video
  23. bark — a dog's sound
  24. field — for sport

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