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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: temple · mate · cold · cue · hide · chest · root · pit

  1. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  2. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  3. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  4. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  5. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  6. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  7. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  8. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  9. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  10. When was this ________________ built?
  11. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  12. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  13. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  14. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  15. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  16. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  17. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  18. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  19. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  20. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  21. Have you found your soul ________________?
  22. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  23. The water is too ________________.
  24. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.

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

Answer key

  1. root — of a word
  2. pit — a fruit stone
  3. chest — of your body
  4. chest — a box
  5. hide — animal skin
  6. cold — the Cold War
  7. root — of a plant
  8. hide — to keep secret
  9. cold — an illness
  10. temple — a place of worship
  11. temple — side of the head
  12. cue — for pool
  13. root — the cause
  14. mate — to breed
  15. chest — of your body
  16. pit — a hole
  17. pit — in a race
  18. mate — a friend
  19. hide — to keep secret
  20. cue — a signal
  21. mate — a partner
  22. cue — a hint
  23. cold — not warm
  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