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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. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  2. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  3. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  4. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  5. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  6. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  7. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  8. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  9. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  10. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  11. She's very handy with a ________________.
  12. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  13. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  14. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  15. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  16. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  17. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  18. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  19. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  20. David sat on the ________________.
  21. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  22. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  23. He works in a ________________ mill.
  24. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.

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

Answer key

  1. row — a quarrel
  2. squash — the vegetable
  3. root — of a word
  4. trunk — of a tree
  5. branch — of a bank
  6. chair — to sit on
  7. branch — of a tree
  8. trunk — of a car
  9. branch — a division
  10. trunk — of an elephant
  11. saw — the tool
  12. root — the cause
  13. squash — the sport
  14. swing — in golf
  15. swing — music
  16. saw — past of 'see'
  17. row — a line
  18. root — of a plant
  19. chair — a professorship
  20. swing — to play on
  21. squash — to crush
  22. row — to paddle
  23. saw — the tool
  24. chair — a leader

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