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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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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 · net · land · cold · root · wave · squash · wind

  1. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  2. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  3. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  4. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  5. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  6. The water is too ________________.
  7. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  8. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  9. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  10. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  11. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  12. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  13. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  14. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  15. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  16. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  17. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  18. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  19. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  20. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  21. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  22. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  23. When are we going to ________________?
  24. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.

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

Answer key

  1. wind — to turn a key
  2. cold — an illness
  3. wave — a sudden rise
  4. cold — the Cold War
  5. land — a country
  6. cold — not warm
  7. wind — moving air
  8. net — after costs
  9. root — of a word
  10. wave — with your hand
  11. squash — to crush
  12. wave — of the sea
  13. branch — of a tree
  14. land — ground
  15. net — for catching
  16. root — the cause
  17. squash — the vegetable
  18. branch — of a bank
  19. branch — a division
  20. net — in sport
  21. wind — moving air
  22. squash — the sport
  23. land — to come down
  24. root — of a plant

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