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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: pitcher · temple · chair · root · arm · kick · bark · wound

  1. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  2. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  3. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  4. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  5. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  6. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  7. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  8. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  9. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  10. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  11. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  12. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  13. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  14. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  15. He is an ace ________________.
  16. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  17. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  18. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  19. My father caught me by the ________________.
  20. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  21. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  22. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  23. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  24. When was this ________________ built?

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

Answer key

  1. wound — an injury
  2. pitcher — a jug
  3. kick — with a leg
  4. bark — of a tree
  5. pitcher — a jug
  6. bark — to shout
  7. chair — a professorship
  8. wound — past of 'wind'
  9. temple — a place of worship
  10. root — the cause
  11. kick — in football
  12. arm — a part of something
  13. arm — part of the body
  14. wound — an injury
  15. pitcher — in baseball
  16. kick — a thrill
  17. root — of a word
  18. chair — a leader
  19. arm — part of the body
  20. bark — a dog's sound
  21. temple — side of the head
  22. chair — to sit on
  23. root — of a plant
  24. temple — a place of worship

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