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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: root · wind · temple · pitch · cell · current · prune · ball

  1. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  2. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  3. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  4. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  5. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  6. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  7. When was this ________________ built?
  8. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  9. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  10. He was locked up in a ________________.
  11. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  12. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  13. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  14. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  15. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  16. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  17. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  18. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  19. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  20. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  21. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  22. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  23. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  24. The King held a masked ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. ball — a round shape
  2. temple — a place of worship
  3. root — of a plant
  4. pitch — a sales talk
  5. current — of water
  6. pitch — a sports field
  7. temple — a place of worship
  8. current — happening now
  9. wind — to turn a key
  10. cell — in a prison
  11. cell — a phone
  12. wind — moving air
  13. current — electric
  14. prune — the fruit
  15. wind — moving air
  16. pitch — completely
  17. temple — side of the head
  18. cell — in biology
  19. prune — to trim
  20. ball — a great time
  21. root — of a word
  22. root — the cause
  23. prune — to trim
  24. ball — a dance

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