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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 124 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.

Words on the sheet
468
Word bank
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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: arm · cold · track · charge · root · bear · spring · branch

  1. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  2. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  3. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  4. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  5. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  6. The water is too ________________.
  7. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  8. The tickets are free of ________________.
  9. My father caught me by the ________________.
  10. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  11. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  12. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  13. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  14. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  15. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  16. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  17. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  18. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  19. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  20. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  21. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  22. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  23. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  24. A black ________________ roamed the forest.

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

Answer key

  1. charge — electricity
  2. bear — the animal
  3. cold — an illness
  4. branch — a division
  5. arm — a part of something
  6. cold — not warm
  7. bear — to put up with
  8. charge — a price
  9. arm — part of the body
  10. track — a path
  11. branch — of a tree
  12. root — the cause
  13. spring — of water
  14. spring — a coil
  15. branch — of a bank
  16. root — of a plant
  17. charge — in control
  18. track — a song
  19. root — of a word
  20. track — to keep track
  21. cold — the Cold War
  22. arm — part of the body
  23. spring — the season
  24. bear — the animal

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