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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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468
Word bank
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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: bore · bark · wake · temple · row · chest · root · bound

  1. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  2. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  3. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  4. When was this ________________ built?
  5. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  6. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  7. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  8. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  9. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  10. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  11. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  12. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  13. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  14. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  15. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  16. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  17. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  18. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  19. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  20. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  21. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  22. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  23. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  24. That was ________________ to happen.

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

Answer key

  1. temple — a place of worship
  2. root — of a plant
  3. bore — to drill
  4. temple — a place of worship
  5. wake — before a funeral
  6. chest — a box
  7. bound — obliged
  8. root — the cause
  9. bound — tied together
  10. wake — to stop sleeping
  11. bark — to shout
  12. bore — gave birth
  13. bark — a dog's sound
  14. wake — a trail
  15. bore — to tire
  16. row — a quarrel
  17. chest — of your body
  18. root — of a word
  19. temple — side of the head
  20. chest — of your body
  21. row — a line
  22. bark — of a tree
  23. row — to paddle
  24. bound — certain

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