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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 116 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 in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  2. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  3. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  4. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  5. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  6. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  7. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  8. The water is too ________________.
  9. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  10. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  11. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  12. How do you ________________ your surname?
  13. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  14. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  15. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  16. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  17. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  18. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.

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

Answer key

  1. spell — magic
  2. branch — of a bank
  3. fine — all right
  4. fine — high quality
  5. cold — the Cold War
  6. root — the cause
  7. branch — a division
  8. cold — not warm
  9. branch — of a tree
  10. root — of a plant
  11. stem — of a plant
  12. spell — letters
  13. fine — a penalty
  14. root — of a word
  15. stem — a stem cell
  16. cold — an illness
  17. stem — to come from
  18. spell — a short time

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