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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: perch · chest · pop · foot · pound · lash · cold · root

  1. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  2. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  3. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  4. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  5. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  6. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  7. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  8. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  9. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  10. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  11. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  12. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  13. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  14. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  15. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  16. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  17. The water is too ________________.
  18. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  19. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  20. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  21. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  22. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  23. You don't need to ________________ round.
  24. We're almost out of ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pound — a weight
  2. root — of a plant
  3. cold — an illness
  4. perch — for a bird
  5. lash — to lash out
  6. cold — the Cold War
  7. root — the cause
  8. chest — a box
  9. lash — a whip stroke
  10. perch — the fish
  11. perch — for a bird
  12. foot — a measure
  13. pop — music
  14. chest — of your body
  15. chest — of your body
  16. foot — the bottom
  17. cold — not warm
  18. lash — an eyelash
  19. pound — to hit hard
  20. pound — for dogs
  21. root — of a word
  22. foot — part of the body
  23. pop — to visit
  24. pop — soda

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