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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. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  2. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  3. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  4. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  5. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  6. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  7. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  8. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  9. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  10. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  11. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  12. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  13. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  14. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  15. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  16. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  17. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  18. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  19. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  20. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  21. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  22. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  23. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  24. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.

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

Answer key

  1. fall — to drop
  2. branch — of a bank
  3. hide — animal skin
  4. hand — help
  5. fall — the season
  6. trunk — of a tree
  7. branch — of a tree
  8. branch — a division
  9. trunk — of a car
  10. root — of a plant
  11. degree — temperature
  12. root — the cause
  13. trunk — of an elephant
  14. root — of a word
  15. hand — in cards
  16. fall — to drop
  17. fine — all right
  18. fine — a penalty
  19. hide — to keep secret
  20. degree — from a university
  21. degree — an amount
  22. hide — to keep secret
  23. hand — part of the body
  24. fine — high quality

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