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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 hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  2. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  3. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  4. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  5. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  6. Have you met the new head ________________?
  7. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  8. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  9. The water is too ________________.
  10. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  11. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  12. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  13. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  14. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  15. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  16. The King held a masked ________________.
  17. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  18. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  19. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  20. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  21. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  22. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  23. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  24. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.

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

Answer key

  1. mark — a trace
  2. coach — pulled by horses
  3. root — the cause
  4. cold — an illness
  5. root — of a word
  6. coach — a trainer
  7. root — of a plant
  8. row — a quarrel
  9. cold — not warm
  10. ball — a great time
  11. row — a line
  12. cold — the Cold War
  13. branch — of a tree
  14. mark — to pay attention
  15. ball — a round shape
  16. ball — a dance
  17. branch — a division
  18. branch — of a bank
  19. snap — to click
  20. snap — to speak sharply
  21. row — to paddle
  22. snap — to snap out of it
  23. mark — a grade
  24. coach — a trainer

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