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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: charge · bark · chest · root · craft · temple · rest · lean

  1. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  2. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  3. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  4. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  5. The tickets are free of ________________.
  6. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  7. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  8. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  9. When was this ________________ built?
  10. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  11. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  12. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  13. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  14. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  15. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  16. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  17. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  18. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  19. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  20. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  21. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  22. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  23. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  24. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.

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

Answer key

  1. charge — electricity
  2. root — of a word
  3. rest — a break
  4. lean — thin
  5. charge — a price
  6. temple — a place of worship
  7. craft — a skill
  8. rest — what's left
  9. temple — a place of worship
  10. lean — to rest against
  11. bark — a dog's sound
  12. lean — to bend
  13. charge — in control
  14. chest — of your body
  15. chest — of your body
  16. root — the cause
  17. bark — to shout
  18. root — of a plant
  19. temple — side of the head
  20. rest — what's left
  21. chest — a box
  22. craft — boats
  23. bark — of a tree
  24. craft — a handicraft

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