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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 · cold · root · pop · kick · foot · pit · wound

  1. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  2. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  3. We're almost out of ________________.
  4. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  5. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  6. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  7. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  8. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  9. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  10. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  11. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  12. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  13. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  14. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  15. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  16. You don't need to ________________ round.
  17. When was this ________________ built?
  18. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  19. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  20. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  21. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  22. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  23. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  24. The water is too ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. root — of a word
  2. root — of a plant
  3. pop — soda
  4. pit — in a race
  5. wound — an injury
  6. kick — with a leg
  7. temple — side of the head
  8. pit — a hole
  9. pit — a fruit stone
  10. kick — in football
  11. temple — a place of worship
  12. foot — a measure
  13. pop — music
  14. wound — past of 'wind'
  15. foot — the bottom
  16. pop — to visit
  17. temple — a place of worship
  18. cold — an illness
  19. cold — the Cold War
  20. root — the cause
  21. wound — an injury
  22. kick — a thrill
  23. foot — part of the body
  24. cold — not warm

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