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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. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  2. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  3. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  4. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  5. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  6. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  7. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  8. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  9. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  10. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  11. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  12. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  13. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  14. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  15. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  16. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  17. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  18. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  19. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  20. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  21. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  22. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  23. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  24. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — of water
  2. bore — to tire
  3. branch — of a bank
  4. branch — a division
  5. root — the cause
  6. lean — thin
  7. spring — the season
  8. bore — gave birth
  9. field — for sport
  10. bore — to drill
  11. trunk — of a car
  12. lean — to bend
  13. mine — an explosive
  14. root — of a word
  15. lean — to rest against
  16. spring — a coil
  17. trunk — of an elephant
  18. field — a subject
  19. trunk — of a tree
  20. mine — for digging
  21. field — farmland
  22. mine — belonging to me
  23. branch — of a tree
  24. root — of a plant

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