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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. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  2. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  3. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  4. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  5. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  6. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  7. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  8. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  9. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  10. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  11. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  12. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  13. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  14. The water is too ________________.
  15. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  16. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  17. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  18. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  19. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  20. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  21. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  22. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  23. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  24. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.

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

Answer key

  1. branch — of a bank
  2. content — the amount
  3. cold — an illness
  4. root — of a plant
  5. kick — with a leg
  6. vault — an arched ceiling
  7. row — a line
  8. cold — the Cold War
  9. ruler — for measuring
  10. content — happy
  11. row — a quarrel
  12. branch — of a tree
  13. root — the cause
  14. cold — not warm
  15. branch — a division
  16. ruler — a monarch
  17. ruler — for measuring
  18. row — to paddle
  19. kick — a thrill
  20. root — of a word
  21. vault — a safe
  22. kick — in football
  23. content — videos and posts
  24. vault — in gymnastics

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