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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: bark · chest · cold · club · stand · staff · lean · root

  1. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  2. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  3. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  4. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  5. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  6. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  7. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  8. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  9. The water is too ________________.
  10. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  11. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  12. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  13. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  14. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  15. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  16. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  17. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  18. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  19. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  20. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  21. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  22. I can't ________________ this cold.
  23. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  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. bark — a dog's sound
  2. root — of a word
  3. root — the cause
  4. chest — of your body
  5. staff — a stick
  6. club — for golf
  7. root — of a plant
  8. bark — to shout
  9. cold — not warm
  10. cold — the Cold War
  11. lean — to rest against
  12. lean — thin
  13. stand — on your feet
  14. bark — of a tree
  15. staff — employees
  16. cold — an illness
  17. lean — to bend
  18. club — a group
  19. chest — of your body
  20. stand — for spectators
  21. club — for dancing
  22. stand — to bear
  23. staff — employees
  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