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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 120 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. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  2. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  3. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  4. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  5. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  6. He was locked up in a ________________.
  7. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  8. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  9. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  10. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  11. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  12. That was ________________ to happen.
  13. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  14. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  15. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  16. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  17. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  18. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  19. When was this ________________ built?
  20. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  21. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  22. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  23. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  24. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.

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

Answer key

  1. cell — a phone
  2. hide — to keep secret
  3. hide — to keep secret
  4. cell — in biology
  5. capital — a big letter
  6. cell — in a prison
  7. hide — animal skin
  8. root — of a plant
  9. temple — a place of worship
  10. prune — to trim
  11. root — of a word
  12. bound — certain
  13. prune — to trim
  14. prune — the fruit
  15. root — the cause
  16. bark — a dog's sound
  17. bark — of a tree
  18. capital — money
  19. temple — a place of worship
  20. capital — a city
  21. bound — tied together
  22. bark — to shout
  23. bound — obliged
  24. temple — side of the head

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