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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 120 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: temple · kick · sharp · pound · root · coach · plane · cold

  1. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  2. The ________________ took off on time.
  3. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  4. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  5. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  6. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  7. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  8. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  9. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  10. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  11. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  12. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  13. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  14. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  15. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  16. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  17. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  18. The water is too ________________.
  19. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  20. When was this ________________ built?
  21. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  22. It's one o'clock ________________.
  23. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  24. Have you met the new head ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. root — of a word
  2. plane — an aircraft
  3. kick — a thrill
  4. temple — a place of worship
  5. pound — for dogs
  6. kick — in football
  7. plane — in geometry
  8. kick — with a leg
  9. cold — the Cold War
  10. coach — pulled by horses
  11. cold — an illness
  12. sharp — with an edge
  13. root — the cause
  14. pound — to hit hard
  15. plane — a tool
  16. coach — a trainer
  17. temple — side of the head
  18. cold — not warm
  19. pound — a weight
  20. temple — a place of worship
  21. root — of a plant
  22. sharp — exactly
  23. sharp — clever
  24. coach — a trainer

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