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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 in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  2. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  3. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  4. When was this ________________ built?
  5. Did you ________________ the meat?
  6. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  7. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  8. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  9. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  10. The ________________ took off on time.
  11. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  12. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  13. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  14. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  15. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  16. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  17. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  18. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  19. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  20. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  21. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  22. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  23. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  24. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.

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

Answer key

  1. wound — an injury
  2. chest — of your body
  3. chest — of your body
  4. temple — a place of worship
  5. season — to add flavour
  6. plane — a tool
  7. fine — a penalty
  8. bark — a dog's sound
  9. root — the cause
  10. plane — an aircraft
  11. temple — a place of worship
  12. bark — to shout
  13. wound — an injury
  14. season — in sport
  15. bark — of a tree
  16. season — of the year
  17. plane — in geometry
  18. root — of a plant
  19. chest — a box
  20. wound — past of 'wind'
  21. fine — high quality
  22. fine — all right
  23. temple — side of the head
  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