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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. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  2. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  3. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  4. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  5. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  6. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  7. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  8. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  9. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  10. The water is too ________________.
  11. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  12. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  13. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  14. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  15. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  16. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  17. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  18. I'll be taking the ________________.
  19. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  20. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  21. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  22. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  23. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  24. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.

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

Answer key

  1. branch — of a tree
  2. spring — the season
  3. tube — a container
  4. tube — in a tire
  5. cold — the Cold War
  6. track — a song
  7. mark — to pay attention
  8. stem — a stem cell
  9. branch — of a bank
  10. cold — not warm
  11. root — the cause
  12. stem — to come from
  13. root — of a word
  14. spring — of water
  15. stem — of a plant
  16. mark — a grade
  17. track — to keep track
  18. tube — the underground
  19. spring — a coil
  20. branch — a division
  21. cold — an illness
  22. track — a path
  23. mark — a trace
  24. root — of a plant

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