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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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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: root · staff · band · wax · kick · prune · chest · bark

  1. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  2. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  3. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  4. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  5. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  6. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  7. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  8. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  9. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  10. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  11. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  12. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  13. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  14. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  15. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  16. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  17. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  18. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  19. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  20. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  21. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  22. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  23. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  24. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. chest — of your body
  2. bark — a dog's sound
  3. bark — to shout
  4. band — a rubber band
  5. root — the cause
  6. wax — for sculpting
  7. root — of a word
  8. prune — to trim
  9. kick — with a leg
  10. prune — to trim
  11. bark — of a tree
  12. chest — a box
  13. band — a ring
  14. prune — the fruit
  15. staff — employees
  16. staff — a stick
  17. wax — to grow
  18. kick — a thrill
  19. band — a music group
  20. staff — employees
  21. root — of a plant
  22. kick — in football
  23. wax — in the ear
  24. chest — of your body

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