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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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Word bank
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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 information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  2. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  3. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  4. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  5. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  6. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  7. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  8. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  9. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  10. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  11. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  12. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  13. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  14. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  15. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  16. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  17. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  18. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  19. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  20. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  21. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  22. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  23. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  24. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.

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

Answer key

  1. file — a document
  2. stick — a piece of wood
  3. root — of a word
  4. degree — from a university
  5. branch — a division
  6. file — a tool
  7. root — the cause
  8. wind — moving air
  9. stick — to attach or keep to
  10. bear — the animal
  11. degree — an amount
  12. bear — the animal
  13. wake — to stop sleeping
  14. stick — a piece of wood
  15. branch — of a tree
  16. branch — of a bank
  17. wind — to turn a key
  18. bear — to put up with
  19. file — a line of people
  20. wake — before a funeral
  21. wind — moving air
  22. wake — a trail
  23. root — of a plant
  24. degree — temperature

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