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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. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  2. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  3. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  4. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  5. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  6. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  7. The water is too ________________.
  8. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  9. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  10. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  11. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  12. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  13. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  14. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  15. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  16. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  17. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  18. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  19. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  20. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  21. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  22. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  23. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  24. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.

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

Answer key

  1. staff — employees
  2. branch — of a tree
  3. branch — of a bank
  4. wound — past of 'wind'
  5. fan — a supporter
  6. march — the month
  7. cold — not warm
  8. staff — a stick
  9. lash — a whip stroke
  10. root — the cause
  11. cold — an illness
  12. fan — to cool the air
  13. root — of a word
  14. branch — a division
  15. fan — a supporter
  16. lash — to lash out
  17. lash — an eyelash
  18. march — music
  19. staff — employees
  20. wound — an injury
  21. wound — an injury
  22. cold — the Cold War
  23. root — of a plant
  24. march — the month

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