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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: tear · root · kick · bear · mate · band · chest · plane

  1. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  2. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  3. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  4. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  5. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  6. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  7. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  8. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  9. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  10. The ________________ took off on time.
  11. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  12. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  13. Have you found your soul ________________?
  14. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  15. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  16. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  17. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  18. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  19. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  20. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  21. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  22. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  23. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  24. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.

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

Answer key

  1. mate — a friend
  2. kick — with a leg
  3. bear — the animal
  4. chest — of your body
  5. tear — from crying
  6. root — of a plant
  7. kick — in football
  8. bear — to put up with
  9. chest — of your body
  10. plane — an aircraft
  11. plane — a tool
  12. band — a music group
  13. mate — a partner
  14. root — of a word
  15. root — the cause
  16. kick — a thrill
  17. mate — to breed
  18. bear — the animal
  19. plane — in geometry
  20. tear — from crying
  21. tear — to rip
  22. band — a ring
  23. band — a rubber band
  24. chest — a box

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