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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 120 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. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  2. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  3. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  4. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  5. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  6. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  7. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  8. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  9. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  10. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  11. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  12. The water is too ________________.
  13. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  14. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  15. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  16. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  17. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  18. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  19. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  20. My father caught me by the ________________.
  21. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  22. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  23. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  24. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.

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

Answer key

  1. pound — to hit hard
  2. stem — to come from
  3. root — the cause
  4. branch — of a bank
  5. cold — the Cold War
  6. bowl — a dish
  7. pound — a weight
  8. arm — a part of something
  9. branch — a division
  10. arm — part of the body
  11. cold — an illness
  12. cold — not warm
  13. stem — of a plant
  14. root — of a word
  15. root — of a plant
  16. branch — of a tree
  17. pound — for dogs
  18. bowl — a football final
  19. bowl — to roll
  20. arm — part of the body
  21. fan — a supporter
  22. fan — to cool the air
  23. fan — a supporter
  24. stem — a stem cell

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