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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: bear · toast · branch · wind · land · race · ground · root

  1. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  2. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  3. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  4. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  5. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  6. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  7. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  8. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  9. When are we going to ________________?
  10. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  11. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  12. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  13. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  14. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  15. There's no middle ________________.
  16. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  17. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  18. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  19. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  20. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  21. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  22. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  23. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  24. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.

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

Answer key

  1. ground — crushed
  2. toast — bread
  3. root — of a word
  4. race — a contest
  5. toast — the most admired
  6. branch — a division
  7. ground — the earth
  8. land — ground
  9. land — to come down
  10. root — the cause
  11. land — a country
  12. wind — moving air
  13. bear — to put up with
  14. root — of a plant
  15. ground — a position
  16. branch — of a tree
  17. toast — a drink to someone
  18. race — the arms race
  19. race — humankind
  20. wind — moving air
  21. bear — the animal
  22. bear — the animal
  23. wind — to turn a key
  24. branch — of a bank

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