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

  1. That was a fun ________________.
  2. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  3. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  4. He was locked up in a ________________.
  5. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  6. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  7. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  8. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  9. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  10. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  11. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  12. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  13. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  14. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  15. This piece is in a major ________________.
  16. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  17. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  18. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  19. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  20. Have you settled on a ________________?
  21. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  22. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  23. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  24. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!

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

Answer key

  1. game — a match
  2. branch — of a tree
  3. root — of a plant
  4. cell — in a prison
  5. spring — of water
  6. bear — the animal
  7. cell — a phone
  8. branch — a division
  9. spring — a coil
  10. root — the cause
  11. key — for a lock
  12. game — a kind of play
  13. cell — in biology
  14. root — of a word
  15. key — in music
  16. spring — the season
  17. key — the most important part
  18. game — wild animals
  19. date — on the calendar
  20. date — on the calendar
  21. bear — the animal
  22. branch — of a bank
  23. date — the fruit
  24. bear — to put up with

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