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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: cell · pit · club · bark · root · chest

  1. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  2. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  3. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  4. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  5. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  6. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  7. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  8. He was locked up in a ________________.
  9. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  10. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  11. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  12. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  13. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  14. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  15. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  16. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  17. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  18. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.

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

Answer key

  1. chest — of your body
  2. bark — to shout
  3. club — for dancing
  4. root — the cause
  5. pit — a hole
  6. bark — of a tree
  7. pit — in a race
  8. cell — in a prison
  9. chest — of your body
  10. cell — a phone
  11. club — a group
  12. club — for golf
  13. bark — a dog's sound
  14. cell — in biology
  15. root — of a word
  16. pit — a fruit stone
  17. root — of a plant
  18. chest — a box

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