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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. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  2. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  3. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  4. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  5. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  6. We're almost out of ________________.
  7. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  8. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  9. Have you settled on a ________________?
  10. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  11. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  12. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  13. You don't need to ________________ round.
  14. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  15. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  16. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  17. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  18. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  19. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  20. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  21. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  22. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  23. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  24. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.

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

Answer key

  1. branch — of a bank
  2. root — of a plant
  3. march — the month
  4. chair — a professorship
  5. branch — a division
  6. pop — soda
  7. chair — a leader
  8. prune — the fruit
  9. date — on the calendar
  10. prune — to trim
  11. race — the arms race
  12. march — music
  13. pop — to visit
  14. march — the month
  15. race — humankind
  16. date — on the calendar
  17. date — the fruit
  18. branch — of a tree
  19. root — of a word
  20. root — the cause
  21. chair — to sit on
  22. prune — to trim
  23. pop — music
  24. race — a contest

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