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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. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  2. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  3. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  4. Did you ________________ the meat?
  5. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  6. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  7. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  8. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  9. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  10. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  11. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  12. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  13. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  14. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  15. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  16. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  17. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  18. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  19. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  20. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  21. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  22. We're on a ________________ here.
  23. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  24. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.

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

Answer key

  1. season — of the year
  2. branch — a division
  3. fall — to drop
  4. season — to add flavour
  5. face — to point toward
  6. root — of a word
  7. row — a quarrel
  8. branch — of a bank
  9. row — a line
  10. fall — the season
  11. season — in sport
  12. root — the cause
  13. row — to paddle
  14. branch — of a tree
  15. roll — a list
  16. root — of a plant
  17. roll — a cake
  18. mine — belonging to me
  19. face — part of the head
  20. face — to confront
  21. mine — for digging
  22. roll — on a roll
  23. mine — an explosive
  24. fall — to drop

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