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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. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  2. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  3. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  4. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  5. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  6. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  7. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  8. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  9. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  10. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  11. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  12. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  13. He was locked up in a ________________.
  14. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  15. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  16. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  17. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  18. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  19. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  20. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  21. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  22. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  23. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  24. Recycle the empty soda ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cell — in biology
  2. can — to be able to
  3. branch — of a bank
  4. wind — to turn a key
  5. wind — moving air
  6. scale — size or range
  7. root — the cause
  8. can — a tin
  9. root — of a word
  10. drill — the tool
  11. root — of a plant
  12. drill — army training
  13. cell — in a prison
  14. mine — an explosive
  15. mine — belonging to me
  16. scale — in music
  17. cell — a phone
  18. mine — for digging
  19. drill — a practice
  20. branch — of a tree
  21. branch — a division
  22. scale — for weighing
  23. wind — moving air
  24. can — a tin

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