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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. Have you found your soul ________________?
  2. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  3. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  4. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  5. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  6. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  7. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  8. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  9. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  10. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  11. Did you ________________ the meat?
  12. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  13. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  14. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  15. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  16. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  17. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  18. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  19. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  20. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  21. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  22. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  23. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  24. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mate — a partner
  2. calf — of the leg
  3. root — of a plant
  4. season — of the year
  5. season — in sport
  6. branch — of a bank
  7. mate — a friend
  8. jam — a tight spot
  9. snap — to speak sharply
  10. branch — a division
  11. season — to add flavour
  12. root — of a word
  13. branch — of a tree
  14. jam — in traffic
  15. root — the cause
  16. track — a path
  17. snap — to snap out of it
  18. track — to keep track
  19. track — a song
  20. snap — to click
  21. calf — a young animal
  22. jam — to spread on bread
  23. mate — to breed
  24. calf — a young animal

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