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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: file · root · last · bound · chest · bark · rush · net

  1. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  2. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  3. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  4. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  5. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  6. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  7. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  8. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  9. That must've been a ________________.
  10. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  11. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  12. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  13. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  14. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  15. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  16. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  17. False peace will not ________________.
  18. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  19. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  20. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  21. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  22. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  23. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  24. That was ________________ to happen.

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

Answer key

  1. chest — of your body
  2. file — a tool
  3. chest — a box
  4. rush — hurry
  5. root — of a word
  6. rush — to hurry
  7. root — the cause
  8. net — in sport
  9. rush — a thrill
  10. last — final
  11. bark — to shout
  12. net — after costs
  13. file — a document
  14. net — for catching
  15. chest — of your body
  16. root — of a plant
  17. last — to go on
  18. bark — a dog's sound
  19. file — a line of people
  20. bark — of a tree
  21. bound — tied together
  22. last — finally
  23. bound — obliged
  24. bound — certain

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