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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 hit the ball with his ________________.
  2. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  3. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  4. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  5. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  6. He works in a ________________ mill.
  7. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  8. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  9. When was this ________________ built?
  10. He is an ace ________________.
  11. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  12. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  13. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  14. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  15. She's very handy with a ________________.
  16. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  17. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  18. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  19. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  20. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  21. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  22. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  23. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  24. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. racket — for tennis
  2. temple — a place of worship
  3. branch — of a tree
  4. saw — past of 'see'
  5. root — the cause
  6. saw — the tool
  7. racket — a loud noise
  8. pitcher — a jug
  9. temple — a place of worship
  10. pitcher — in baseball
  11. temple — side of the head
  12. band — a rubber band
  13. branch — a division
  14. scale — size or range
  15. saw — the tool
  16. root — of a plant
  17. band — a ring
  18. pitcher — a jug
  19. racket — for tennis
  20. branch — of a bank
  21. root — of a word
  22. band — a music group
  23. scale — for weighing
  24. scale — in music

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