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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. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  2. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  3. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  4. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  5. The ball is in your ________________.
  6. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  7. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  8. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  9. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  10. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  11. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  12. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  13. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  14. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  15. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  16. He is an ace ________________.
  17. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  18. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  19. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  20. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  21. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  22. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  23. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  24. Fill up this ________________ with water.

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

Answer key

  1. branch — of a tree
  2. fall — the season
  3. root — of a word
  4. branch — a division
  5. court — for sport
  6. pitcher — a jug
  7. root — of a plant
  8. tear — from crying
  9. rock — music
  10. court — of a king
  11. wound — an injury
  12. wound — past of 'wind'
  13. fall — to drop
  14. wound — an injury
  15. rock — to move gently
  16. pitcher — in baseball
  17. rock — a stone
  18. branch — of a bank
  19. tear — to rip
  20. root — the cause
  21. court — of law
  22. fall — to drop
  23. tear — from crying
  24. pitcher — a jug

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