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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. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  2. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  3. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  4. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  5. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  6. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  7. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  8. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  9. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  10. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  11. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  12. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  13. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  14. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  15. He was locked up in a ________________.
  16. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  17. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  18. I can't ________________ this cold.
  19. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  20. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  21. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  22. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  23. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  24. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.

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

Answer key

  1. stand — for spectators
  2. mine — belonging to me
  3. branch — of a bank
  4. cell — in biology
  5. tear — to rip
  6. file — a tool
  7. branch — a division
  8. root — of a word
  9. tear — from crying
  10. root — of a plant
  11. drill — the tool
  12. branch — of a tree
  13. drill — army training
  14. cell — a phone
  15. cell — in a prison
  16. root — the cause
  17. drill — a practice
  18. stand — to bear
  19. file — a line of people
  20. mine — for digging
  21. file — a document
  22. mine — an explosive
  23. tear — from crying
  24. stand — on your feet

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