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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. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  2. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  3. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  4. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  5. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  6. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  7. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  8. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  9. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  10. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  11. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  12. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  13. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  14. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  15. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  16. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  17. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  18. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  19. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  20. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  21. When was this ________________ built?
  22. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  23. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  24. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — a coil
  2. root — of a word
  3. spring — the season
  4. deal — to handle
  5. prune — the fruit
  6. branch — of a tree
  7. branch — a division
  8. branch — of a bank
  9. root — the cause
  10. root — of a plant
  11. prune — to trim
  12. stem — a stem cell
  13. stem — to come from
  14. spring — of water
  15. temple — a place of worship
  16. wind — to turn a key
  17. stem — of a plant
  18. wind — moving air
  19. deal — an agreement
  20. deal — a big deal
  21. temple — a place of worship
  22. wind — moving air
  23. prune — to trim
  24. temple — side of the head

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