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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: last · branch · bay · plane · cold · wind · shower · root

  1. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  2. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  3. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  4. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  5. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  6. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  7. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  8. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  9. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  10. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  11. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  12. The ________________ took off on time.
  13. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  14. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  15. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  16. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  17. The water is too ________________.
  18. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  19. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  20. My mare is ________________ in color.
  21. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  22. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  23. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  24. False peace will not ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wind — moving air
  2. last — final
  3. branch — of a bank
  4. bay — to keep at bay
  5. root — of a word
  6. root — of a plant
  7. wind — moving air
  8. cold — the Cold War
  9. branch — of a tree
  10. bay — a part of the sea
  11. plane — a tool
  12. plane — an aircraft
  13. branch — a division
  14. shower — rain
  15. wind — to turn a key
  16. last — finally
  17. cold — not warm
  18. root — the cause
  19. shower — a meteor shower
  20. bay — a horse colour
  21. shower — to wash
  22. plane — in geometry
  23. cold — an illness
  24. last — to go on

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