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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 116 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: squash · root · cold · scale · spell · land · branch · pass

  1. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  2. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  3. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  4. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  5. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  6. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  7. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  8. The water is too ________________.
  9. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  10. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  11. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  12. When are we going to ________________?
  13. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  14. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  15. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  16. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  17. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  18. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  19. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  20. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  21. How do you ________________ your surname?
  22. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  23. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  24. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.

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

Answer key

  1. squash — to crush
  2. cold — an illness
  3. branch — of a bank
  4. scale — in music
  5. pass — a permit
  6. squash — the vegetable
  7. land — ground
  8. cold — not warm
  9. root — of a word
  10. branch — a division
  11. spell — magic
  12. land — to come down
  13. spell — a short time
  14. root — the cause
  15. root — of a plant
  16. pass — to spend time
  17. scale — for weighing
  18. land — a country
  19. squash — the sport
  20. scale — size or range
  21. spell — letters
  22. branch — of a tree
  23. pass — to succeed
  24. cold — the Cold War

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