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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 116 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. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  2. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  3. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  4. Have you met the new head ________________?
  5. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  6. The water is too ________________.
  7. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  8. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  9. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  10. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  11. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  12. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  13. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  14. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  15. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  16. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  17. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  18. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  19. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  20. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  21. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  22. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  23. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  24. We have nothing to ________________ here.

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

Answer key

  1. branch — a division
  2. root — of a plant
  3. hide — to keep secret
  4. coach — a trainer
  5. root — of a word
  6. cold — not warm
  7. trunk — of a car
  8. cold — an illness
  9. cold — the Cold War
  10. squash — the sport
  11. squash — the vegetable
  12. branch — of a tree
  13. coach — a trainer
  14. chip — for betting
  15. chip — in a computer
  16. coach — pulled by horses
  17. chip — to eat
  18. root — the cause
  19. branch — of a bank
  20. squash — to crush
  21. trunk — of a tree
  22. trunk — of an elephant
  23. hide — animal skin
  24. hide — to keep secret

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