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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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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: vault · face · root · fork · wind · bark · row · staff

  1. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  2. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  3. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  4. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  5. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  6. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  7. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  8. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  9. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  10. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  11. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  12. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  13. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  14. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  15. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  16. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  17. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  18. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  19. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  20. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  21. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  22. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  23. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  24. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.

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

Answer key

  1. root — of a word
  2. bark — of a tree
  3. face — to confront
  4. fork — in a road
  5. staff — employees
  6. face — part of the head
  7. bark — to shout
  8. wind — to turn a key
  9. wind — moving air
  10. staff — employees
  11. vault — a safe
  12. row — a line
  13. row — a quarrel
  14. root — the cause
  15. row — to paddle
  16. root — of a plant
  17. vault — an arched ceiling
  18. wind — moving air
  19. face — to point toward
  20. vault — in gymnastics
  21. fork — a garden tool
  22. staff — a stick
  23. bark — a dog's sound
  24. fork — to eat with

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