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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 · cold · face · foot · staff · bark · wound · pound

  1. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  2. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  3. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  4. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  5. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  6. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  7. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  8. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  9. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  10. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  11. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  12. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  13. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  14. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  15. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  16. The water is too ________________.
  17. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  18. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  19. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  20. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  21. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  22. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  23. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  24. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.

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

Answer key

  1. pound — to hit hard
  2. wound — past of 'wind'
  3. face — part of the head
  4. foot — the bottom
  5. staff — employees
  6. pound — for dogs
  7. bark — of a tree
  8. wound — an injury
  9. bark — a dog's sound
  10. wound — an injury
  11. face — to confront
  12. root — of a plant
  13. root — the cause
  14. bark — to shout
  15. staff — a stick
  16. cold — not warm
  17. foot — a measure
  18. face — to point toward
  19. root — of a word
  20. cold — the Cold War
  21. staff — employees
  22. cold — an illness
  23. foot — part of the body
  24. pound — a weight

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