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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: root · cell · mark · clip · ball · kick · branch · bowl

  1. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  2. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  3. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  4. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  5. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  6. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  7. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  8. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  9. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  10. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  11. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  12. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  13. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  14. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  15. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  16. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  17. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  18. The King held a masked ________________.
  19. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  20. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  21. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  22. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  23. He was locked up in a ________________.
  24. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.

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

Answer key

  1. mark — to pay attention
  2. kick — a thrill
  3. bowl — to roll
  4. root — of a word
  5. ball — a round shape
  6. branch — of a tree
  7. root — of a plant
  8. bowl — a football final
  9. mark — a grade
  10. cell — a phone
  11. cell — in biology
  12. branch — a division
  13. branch — of a bank
  14. root — the cause
  15. clip — to cut
  16. kick — in football
  17. bowl — a dish
  18. ball — a dance
  19. clip — for paper
  20. kick — with a leg
  21. clip — a video
  22. ball — a great time
  23. cell — in a prison
  24. mark — a trace

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