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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. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  2. It's one o'clock ________________.
  3. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  4. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  5. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  6. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  7. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  8. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  9. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  10. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  11. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  12. That was a fun ________________.
  13. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  14. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  15. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  16. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  17. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  18. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  19. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  20. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  21. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  22. That must've been a ________________.
  23. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  24. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.

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

Answer key

  1. branch — of a bank
  2. sharp — exactly
  3. sharp — with an edge
  4. squash — the vegetable
  5. rush — to hurry
  6. net — after costs
  7. root — the cause
  8. branch — of a tree
  9. net — in sport
  10. squash — the sport
  11. net — for catching
  12. game — a match
  13. game — a kind of play
  14. game — wild animals
  15. sharp — clever
  16. chest — of your body
  17. rush — hurry
  18. chest — of your body
  19. root — of a plant
  20. root — of a word
  21. branch — a division
  22. rush — a thrill
  23. chest — a box
  24. squash — to crush

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