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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: trunk · pound · kid · temple · rule · bark · root · fall

  1. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  2. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  3. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  4. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  5. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  6. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  7. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  8. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  9. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  10. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  11. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  12. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  13. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  14. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  15. When was this ________________ built?
  16. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  17. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  18. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  19. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  20. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  21. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  22. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  23. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  24. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.

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

Answer key

  1. fall — to drop
  2. bark — a dog's sound
  3. bark — to shout
  4. fall — to drop
  5. root — of a plant
  6. rule — to rule out
  7. kid — child
  8. temple — side of the head
  9. pound — a weight
  10. rule — government
  11. trunk — of an elephant
  12. root — the cause
  13. bark — of a tree
  14. trunk — of a car
  15. temple — a place of worship
  16. pound — for dogs
  17. root — of a word
  18. fall — the season
  19. kid — to tease
  20. temple — a place of worship
  21. rule — a law
  22. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  23. trunk — of a tree
  24. pound — to hit hard

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