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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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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 · snap · court · calf · field · branch · trunk · cold

  1. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  2. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  3. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  4. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  5. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  6. The ball is in your ________________.
  7. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  8. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  9. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  10. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  11. The water is too ________________.
  12. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  13. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  14. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  15. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  16. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  17. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  18. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  19. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  20. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  21. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  22. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  23. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  24. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.

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

Answer key

  1. trunk — of a tree
  2. field — for sport
  3. calf — a young animal
  4. calf — of the leg
  5. calf — a young animal
  6. court — for sport
  7. root — the cause
  8. snap — to click
  9. cold — an illness
  10. cold — the Cold War
  11. cold — not warm
  12. trunk — of an elephant
  13. branch — of a tree
  14. branch — a division
  15. snap — to snap out of it
  16. root — of a plant
  17. root — of a word
  18. trunk — of a car
  19. court — of law
  20. snap — to speak sharply
  21. branch — of a bank
  22. court — of a king
  23. field — farmland
  24. field — a subject

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