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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. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  2. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  3. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  4. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  5. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  6. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  7. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  8. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  9. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  10. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  11. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  12. The water is too ________________.
  13. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  14. False peace will not ________________.
  15. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  16. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  17. When was this ________________ built?
  18. My father caught me by the ________________.
  19. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  20. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  21. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  22. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  23. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  24. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.

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

Answer key

  1. last — final
  2. tear — from crying
  3. staff — employees
  4. root — of a word
  5. arm — a part of something
  6. last — finally
  7. tear — from crying
  8. root — of a plant
  9. branch — of a bank
  10. staff — employees
  11. arm — part of the body
  12. cold — not warm
  13. tear — to rip
  14. last — to go on
  15. cold — the Cold War
  16. branch — of a tree
  17. temple — a place of worship
  18. arm — part of the body
  19. cold — an illness
  20. temple — a place of worship
  21. staff — a stick
  22. temple — side of the head
  23. branch — a division
  24. root — the cause

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