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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 120 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. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  3. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  4. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  5. The water is too ________________.
  6. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  7. Have you met the new head ________________?
  8. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  9. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  10. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  11. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  12. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  13. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  14. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  15. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  16. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  17. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  18. The ________________ went through the wall.
  19. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  20. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  21. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  22. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  23. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  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. hand — in cards
  3. drill — a practice
  4. drill — army training
  5. cold — not warm
  6. nail — for a hammer
  7. coach — a trainer
  8. hand — help
  9. stick — a piece of wood
  10. hand — part of the body
  11. nail — on a finger
  12. branch — a division
  13. stick — a piece of wood
  14. branch — of a bank
  15. root — of a word
  16. cold — an illness
  17. coach — a trainer
  18. nail — for a hammer
  19. root — the cause
  20. cold — the Cold War
  21. coach — pulled by horses
  22. drill — the tool
  23. stick — to attach or keep to
  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