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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 · hide · stem · root · tube · net · wind · chest

  1. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  2. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  3. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  4. I'll be taking the ________________.
  5. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  6. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  7. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  8. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  9. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  10. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  11. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  12. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  13. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  14. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  15. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  16. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  17. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  18. When was this ________________ built?
  19. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  20. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  21. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  22. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  23. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  24. The ball hit the back of the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. temple — side of the head
  2. net — after costs
  3. wind — to turn a key
  4. tube — the underground
  5. hide — to keep secret
  6. root — of a plant
  7. chest — a box
  8. wind — moving air
  9. tube — a container
  10. stem — to come from
  11. temple — a place of worship
  12. wind — moving air
  13. root — the cause
  14. chest — of your body
  15. root — of a word
  16. tube — in a tire
  17. hide — to keep secret
  18. temple — a place of worship
  19. net — for catching
  20. stem — a stem cell
  21. chest — of your body
  22. hide — animal skin
  23. stem — of a plant
  24. net — in sport

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