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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: cap · wake · drill · wound · cell · pitcher · chest · root

  1. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  2. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  3. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  4. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  5. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  6. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  7. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  8. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  9. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  10. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  11. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  12. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  13. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  14. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  15. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  16. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  17. He is an ace ________________.
  18. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  19. He was locked up in a ________________.
  20. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  21. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  22. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  23. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  24. We ________________ up on opposing sides.

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

Answer key

  1. cell — in biology
  2. cell — a phone
  3. wake — to stop sleeping
  4. wake — a trail
  5. chest — a box
  6. wound — an injury
  7. cap — a hat
  8. chest — of your body
  9. root — of a word
  10. cap — of ice
  11. root — the cause
  12. chest — of your body
  13. pitcher — a jug
  14. drill — army training
  15. root — of a plant
  16. drill — the tool
  17. pitcher — in baseball
  18. cap — a lid
  19. cell — in a prison
  20. wake — before a funeral
  21. wound — an injury
  22. pitcher — a jug
  23. drill — a practice
  24. wound — past of 'wind'

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