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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: ruler · club · nail · cold · field · branch · row · root

  1. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  2. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  3. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  4. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  5. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  6. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  7. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  8. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  9. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  10. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  11. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  12. The ________________ went through the wall.
  13. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  14. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  15. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  16. The water is too ________________.
  17. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  18. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  19. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  20. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  21. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  22. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  23. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  24. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.

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

Answer key

  1. field — farmland
  2. branch — of a tree
  3. branch — of a bank
  4. root — the cause
  5. ruler — for measuring
  6. row — a quarrel
  7. club — for golf
  8. club — for dancing
  9. row — to paddle
  10. nail — for a hammer
  11. root — of a plant
  12. nail — for a hammer
  13. cold — an illness
  14. row — a line
  15. field — a subject
  16. cold — not warm
  17. ruler — for measuring
  18. branch — a division
  19. field — for sport
  20. ruler — a monarch
  21. cold — the Cold War
  22. root — of a word
  23. club — a group
  24. nail — on a finger

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