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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. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  2. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  3. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  4. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  5. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  6. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  7. There's no middle ________________.
  8. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  9. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  10. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  11. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  12. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  13. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  14. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  15. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  16. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  17. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  18. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  19. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  20. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  21. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  22. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  23. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  24. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.

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

Answer key

  1. trunk — of a tree
  2. rock — to move gently
  3. kid — to tease
  4. root — the cause
  5. trunk — of an elephant
  6. root — of a plant
  7. ground — a position
  8. rock — music
  9. root — of a word
  10. pound — for dogs
  11. chest — of your body
  12. current — electric
  13. rock — a stone
  14. current — happening now
  15. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  16. chest — of your body
  17. current — of water
  18. trunk — of a car
  19. pound — to hit hard
  20. chest — a box
  21. ground — the earth
  22. kid — child
  23. ground — crushed
  24. pound — a weight

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