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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. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  2. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  3. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  4. When was this ________________ built?
  5. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  6. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  7. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  8. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  9. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  10. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  11. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  12. The ________________ took off on time.
  13. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  14. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  15. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  16. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  17. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  18. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  19. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  20. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  21. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  22. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  23. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  24. The train ________________ at six o'clock.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — child
  2. staff — employees
  3. temple — a place of worship
  4. temple — a place of worship
  5. net — in sport
  6. plane — a tool
  7. root — of a word
  8. plane — in geometry
  9. net — after costs
  10. temple — side of the head
  11. kid — to tease
  12. plane — an aircraft
  13. root — the cause
  14. staff — employees
  15. band — a ring
  16. net — for catching
  17. leaves — lets stay
  18. band — a music group
  19. band — a rubber band
  20. staff — a stick
  21. leaves — of a tree
  22. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  23. root — of a plant
  24. leaves — to go away

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