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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. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  2. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  3. This piece is in a major ________________.
  4. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  5. The water is too ________________.
  6. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  7. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  8. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  9. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  10. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  11. The ________________ market has crashed.
  12. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  13. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  14. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  15. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  16. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  17. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  18. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  19. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  20. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  21. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  22. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  23. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  24. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.

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

Answer key

  1. branch — of a bank
  2. stock — a soup base
  3. key — in music
  4. key — the most important part
  5. cold — not warm
  6. cold — the Cold War
  7. dip — to dunk
  8. wound — an injury
  9. wake — before a funeral
  10. wake — a trail
  11. stock — shares
  12. wound — an injury
  13. wound — past of 'wind'
  14. branch — of a tree
  15. root — of a word
  16. branch — a division
  17. cold — an illness
  18. dip — a sauce
  19. dip — to sink
  20. root — of a plant
  21. wake — to stop sleeping
  22. stock — goods
  23. key — for a lock
  24. root — the cause

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