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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: bass · field · root · branch · snap · clip · bulb · race

  1. The light ________________ burned out.
  2. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  3. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  4. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  5. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  6. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  7. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  8. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  9. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  10. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  11. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  12. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  13. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  14. I've got to change the light ________________.
  15. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  16. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  17. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  18. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  19. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  20. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  21. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  22. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  23. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  24. Hold the papers together with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bulb — for light
  2. field — farmland
  3. branch — a division
  4. snap — to snap out of it
  5. race — a contest
  6. bass — low music
  7. bulb — of a plant
  8. race — the arms race
  9. branch — of a tree
  10. root — of a word
  11. snap — to speak sharply
  12. root — of a plant
  13. bass — the fish
  14. bulb — for light
  15. bass — the instrument
  16. field — a subject
  17. race — humankind
  18. clip — to cut
  19. snap — to click
  20. field — for sport
  21. clip — a video
  22. branch — of a bank
  23. root — the cause
  24. clip — for paper

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