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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: arm · lean · root · cell · temple · toast · tube · game

  1. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  2. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  3. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  4. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  5. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  6. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  7. That was a fun ________________.
  8. I'll be taking the ________________.
  9. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  10. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  11. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  12. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  13. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  14. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  15. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  16. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  17. When was this ________________ built?
  18. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  19. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  20. He was locked up in a ________________.
  21. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  22. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  23. My father caught me by the ________________.
  24. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.

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

Answer key

  1. temple — a place of worship
  2. root — the cause
  3. tube — a container
  4. game — wild animals
  5. lean — to bend
  6. tube — in a tire
  7. game — a match
  8. tube — the underground
  9. toast — the most admired
  10. arm — a part of something
  11. game — a kind of play
  12. cell — a phone
  13. arm — part of the body
  14. root — of a plant
  15. temple — side of the head
  16. lean — to rest against
  17. temple — a place of worship
  18. cell — in biology
  19. lean — thin
  20. cell — in a prison
  21. toast — a drink to someone
  22. root — of a word
  23. arm — part of the body
  24. toast — bread

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