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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. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  3. He works in a ________________ mill.
  4. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  5. The water is too ________________.
  6. There's no middle ________________.
  7. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  8. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  9. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  10. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  11. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  12. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  13. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  14. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  15. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  16. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  17. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  18. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  19. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  20. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  21. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  22. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  23. She's very handy with a ________________.
  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. fork — to eat with
  3. saw — the tool
  4. ground — the earth
  5. cold — not warm
  6. ground — a position
  7. branch — of a bank
  8. root — the cause
  9. cold — the Cold War
  10. wound — an injury
  11. branch — a division
  12. fork — a garden tool
  13. cold — an illness
  14. root — of a word
  15. ground — crushed
  16. band — a ring
  17. fork — in a road
  18. saw — past of 'see'
  19. wound — past of 'wind'
  20. band — a music group
  21. band — a rubber band
  22. wound — an injury
  23. saw — the tool
  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