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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 116 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. The water is too ________________.
  2. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  3. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  4. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  5. David sat on the ________________.
  6. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  7. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  8. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  9. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  10. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  11. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  12. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  13. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  14. The King held a masked ________________.
  15. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  16. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  17. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  18. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  19. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  20. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  21. There's no middle ________________.
  22. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  23. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  24. The ball is in your ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — not warm
  2. branch — of a bank
  3. staff — employees
  4. staff — a stick
  5. swing — to play on
  6. branch — of a tree
  7. swing — music
  8. cold — an illness
  9. cold — the Cold War
  10. branch — a division
  11. ball — a round shape
  12. swing — in golf
  13. root — of a plant
  14. ball — a dance
  15. ball — a great time
  16. ground — the earth
  17. root — the cause
  18. staff — employees
  19. court — of a king
  20. court — of law
  21. ground — a position
  22. ground — crushed
  23. root — of a word
  24. court — for sport

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