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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. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  2. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  3. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  4. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  5. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  6. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  7. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  8. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  9. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  10. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  11. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  12. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  13. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  14. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  15. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  16. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  17. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  18. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  19. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  20. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  21. That must've been a ________________.
  22. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  23. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  24. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.

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

Answer key

  1. branch — a division
  2. rush — to hurry
  3. rush — hurry
  4. bark — of a tree
  5. root — of a plant
  6. mine — an explosive
  7. pass — a permit
  8. wound — an injury
  9. kid — child
  10. branch — of a bank
  11. mine — belonging to me
  12. bark — a dog's sound
  13. wound — past of 'wind'
  14. bark — to shout
  15. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  16. branch — of a tree
  17. root — the cause
  18. mine — for digging
  19. pass — to spend time
  20. wound — an injury
  21. rush — a thrill
  22. pass — to succeed
  23. kid — to tease
  24. root — of a word

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