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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: fork · pitch · temple · pound · wind · stem · row · safe

  1. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  2. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  3. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  4. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  5. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  6. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  7. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  8. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  9. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  10. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  11. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  12. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  13. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  14. When was this ________________ built?
  15. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  16. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  17. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  18. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  19. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  20. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  21. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  22. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  23. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  24. Many English words ________________ from Latin.

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

Answer key

  1. temple — a place of worship
  2. wind — to turn a key
  3. pitch — a sales talk
  4. pitch — completely
  5. fork — a garden tool
  6. stem — a stem cell
  7. safe — a strongbox
  8. row — a line
  9. pound — to hit hard
  10. pound — a weight
  11. row — a quarrel
  12. row — to paddle
  13. stem — of a plant
  14. temple — a place of worship
  15. wind — moving air
  16. pound — for dogs
  17. fork — in a road
  18. pitch — a sports field
  19. wind — moving air
  20. temple — side of the head
  21. fork — to eat with
  22. safe — out of danger
  23. safe — out of danger
  24. stem — to come from

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