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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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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: bass · temple · root · bark · net · ground · pitch · kid

  1. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  2. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  3. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  4. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  5. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  6. When was this ________________ built?
  7. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  8. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  9. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  10. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  11. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  12. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  13. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  14. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  15. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  16. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  17. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  18. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  19. There's no middle ________________.
  20. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  21. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  22. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  23. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  24. The ball hit the back of the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. temple — side of the head
  2. bass — the fish
  3. pitch — a sales talk
  4. pitch — completely
  5. ground — crushed
  6. temple — a place of worship
  7. pitch — a sports field
  8. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  9. kid — child
  10. root — of a word
  11. bass — low music
  12. ground — the earth
  13. bark — a dog's sound
  14. root — the cause
  15. bass — the instrument
  16. bark — of a tree
  17. bark — to shout
  18. temple — a place of worship
  19. ground — a position
  20. kid — to tease
  21. net — after costs
  22. net — for catching
  23. root — of a plant
  24. net — in sport

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