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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. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  3. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  4. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  5. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  6. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  7. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  8. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  9. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  10. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  11. That was ________________ to happen.
  12. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  13. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  14. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  15. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  16. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  17. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  18. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  19. When was this ________________ built?
  20. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  21. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  22. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  23. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  24. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.

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

Answer key

  1. branch — of a bank
  2. bound — obliged
  3. root — of a word
  4. bound — tied together
  5. temple — side of the head
  6. wind — to turn a key
  7. branch — a division
  8. temple — a place of worship
  9. race — humankind
  10. branch — of a tree
  11. bound — certain
  12. root — of a plant
  13. root — the cause
  14. squash — the sport
  15. race — a contest
  16. wind — moving air
  17. spring — of water
  18. spring — the season
  19. temple — a place of worship
  20. race — the arms race
  21. wind — moving air
  22. spring — a coil
  23. squash — to crush
  24. squash — the vegetable

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