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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. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  2. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  3. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  4. The ball is in your ________________.
  5. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  6. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  7. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  8. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  9. I can't ________________ this cold.
  10. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  11. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  12. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  13. The water is too ________________.
  14. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  15. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  16. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  17. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  18. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  19. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  20. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  21. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  22. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  23. My father caught me by the ________________.
  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. arm — a part of something
  2. branch — a division
  3. root — of a word
  4. court — for sport
  5. arm — part of the body
  6. fork — in a road
  7. stand — for spectators
  8. stand — on your feet
  9. stand — to bear
  10. trunk — of a tree
  11. fork — a garden tool
  12. fork — to eat with
  13. cold — not warm
  14. trunk — of a car
  15. cold — the Cold War
  16. cold — an illness
  17. branch — of a bank
  18. trunk — of an elephant
  19. branch — of a tree
  20. court — of law
  21. root — of a plant
  22. court — of a king
  23. arm — part of the body
  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