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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. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  2. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  3. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  4. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  5. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  6. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  7. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  8. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  9. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  10. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  11. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  12. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  13. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  14. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  15. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  16. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  17. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  18. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  19. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  20. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  21. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  22. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  23. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  24. This looks like a gunshot ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bear — to put up with
  2. hand — help
  3. wound — an injury
  4. vault — a safe
  5. bear — the animal
  6. branch — of a tree
  7. root — of a plant
  8. squash — to crush
  9. root — of a word
  10. vault — in gymnastics
  11. bear — the animal
  12. vault — an arched ceiling
  13. root — the cause
  14. branch — of a bank
  15. hand — in cards
  16. mine — an explosive
  17. squash — the sport
  18. mine — for digging
  19. hand — part of the body
  20. mine — belonging to me
  21. wound — past of 'wind'
  22. squash — the vegetable
  23. branch — a division
  24. wound — an injury

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