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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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Word bank
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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: chest · cell · craft · pound · squash · root

  1. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  2. He was locked up in a ________________.
  3. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  4. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  5. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  6. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  7. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  8. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  9. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  10. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  11. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  12. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  13. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  14. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  15. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  16. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  17. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  18. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.

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

Answer key

  1. squash — the sport
  2. cell — in a prison
  3. pound — to hit hard
  4. pound — for dogs
  5. root — of a word
  6. root — of a plant
  7. craft — a handicraft
  8. chest — of your body
  9. chest — a box
  10. squash — the vegetable
  11. craft — a skill
  12. squash — to crush
  13. craft — boats
  14. cell — a phone
  15. pound — a weight
  16. chest — of your body
  17. cell — in biology
  18. root — the cause

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