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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: wound · root · chest · clip · fork · mouse · temple · net

  1. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  2. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  3. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  4. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  5. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  6. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  7. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  8. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  9. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  10. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  11. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  12. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  13. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  14. When was this ________________ built?
  15. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  16. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  17. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  18. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  19. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  20. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  21. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  22. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  23. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  24. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.

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

Answer key

  1. chest — a box
  2. fork — a garden tool
  3. net — in sport
  4. wound — an injury
  5. mouse — the animal
  6. mouse — for a computer
  7. temple — side of the head
  8. net — after costs
  9. root — the cause
  10. clip — a video
  11. fork — to eat with
  12. fork — in a road
  13. chest — of your body
  14. temple — a place of worship
  15. net — for catching
  16. root — of a plant
  17. clip — for paper
  18. temple — a place of worship
  19. root — of a word
  20. wound — an injury
  21. wound — past of 'wind'
  22. mouse — the animal
  23. chest — of your body
  24. clip — to cut

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