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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.

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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: last · saw · toast · cell · branch · root · chest · file

  1. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  2. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  3. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  4. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  5. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  6. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  7. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  8. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  9. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  10. She's very handy with a ________________.
  11. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  12. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  13. False peace will not ________________.
  14. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  15. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  16. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  17. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  18. He works in a ________________ mill.
  19. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  20. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  21. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  22. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  23. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  24. He was locked up in a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. last — final
  2. root — of a word
  3. root — of a plant
  4. toast — bread
  5. chest — of your body
  6. file — a tool
  7. saw — past of 'see'
  8. root — the cause
  9. file — a line of people
  10. saw — the tool
  11. toast — a drink to someone
  12. chest — a box
  13. last — to go on
  14. branch — of a tree
  15. cell — in biology
  16. toast — the most admired
  17. branch — a division
  18. saw — the tool
  19. chest — of your body
  20. branch — of a bank
  21. file — a document
  22. cell — a phone
  23. last — finally
  24. cell — in a prison

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