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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 120 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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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: branch · root · court · ruler · bear · drill · file · hand

  1. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  2. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  3. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  4. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  5. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  6. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  7. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  8. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  9. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  10. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  11. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  12. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  13. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  14. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  15. The ball is in your ________________.
  16. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  17. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  18. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  19. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  20. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  21. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  22. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  23. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  24. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.

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

Answer key

  1. branch — of a bank
  2. hand — help
  3. file — a line of people
  4. hand — in cards
  5. court — of law
  6. drill — the tool
  7. court — of a king
  8. hand — part of the body
  9. ruler — a monarch
  10. drill — army training
  11. root — the cause
  12. root — of a word
  13. bear — to put up with
  14. file — a tool
  15. court — for sport
  16. root — of a plant
  17. branch — of a tree
  18. drill — a practice
  19. ruler — for measuring
  20. branch — a division
  21. bear — the animal
  22. bear — the animal
  23. ruler — for measuring
  24. file — a document

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