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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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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 · season · spell · pound · snap · track · temple · cell

  1. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  2. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  3. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  4. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  5. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  6. He was locked up in a ________________.
  7. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  8. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  9. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  10. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  11. How do you ________________ your surname?
  12. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  13. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  14. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  15. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  16. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  17. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  18. Did you ________________ the meat?
  19. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  20. When was this ________________ built?
  21. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  22. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  23. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  24. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!

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

Answer key

  1. temple — a place of worship
  2. snap — to speak sharply
  3. spell — a short time
  4. snap — to click
  5. track — a path
  6. cell — in a prison
  7. root — the cause
  8. season — in sport
  9. season — of the year
  10. pound — for dogs
  11. spell — letters
  12. root — of a word
  13. temple — side of the head
  14. spell — magic
  15. root — of a plant
  16. track — a song
  17. pound — to hit hard
  18. season — to add flavour
  19. snap — to snap out of it
  20. temple — a place of worship
  21. pound — a weight
  22. track — to keep track
  23. cell — in biology
  24. cell — a phone

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