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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: court · jam · root · key · drill · branch · stem · clip

  1. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  2. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  3. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  4. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  5. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  6. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  7. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  8. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  9. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  10. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  11. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  12. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  13. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  14. The ball is in your ________________.
  15. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  16. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  17. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  18. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  19. This piece is in a major ________________.
  20. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  21. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  22. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  23. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  24. Hard work is the ________________ to success.

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

Answer key

  1. key — for a lock
  2. stem — a stem cell
  3. court — of a king
  4. jam — a tight spot
  5. stem — of a plant
  6. drill — the tool
  7. root — of a word
  8. branch — of a tree
  9. branch — of a bank
  10. root — the cause
  11. clip — for paper
  12. stem — to come from
  13. branch — a division
  14. court — for sport
  15. court — of law
  16. jam — in traffic
  17. clip — to cut
  18. drill — a practice
  19. key — in music
  20. clip — a video
  21. drill — army training
  22. jam — to spread on bread
  23. root — of a plant
  24. key — the most important part

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