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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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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: nail · rash · cold · branch · roll · root · staff · object

  1. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  2. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  3. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  4. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  5. The water is too ________________.
  6. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  7. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  8. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  9. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  10. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  11. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  12. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  13. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  14. Don't do anything ________________.
  15. We're on a ________________ here.
  16. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  17. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  18. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  19. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  20. The ________________ went through the wall.
  21. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  22. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  23. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  24. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.

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

Answer key

  1. roll — a cake
  2. nail — for a hammer
  3. rash — on the skin
  4. rash — a series
  5. cold — not warm
  6. staff — employees
  7. object — a thing
  8. cold — the Cold War
  9. object — to protest
  10. nail — on a finger
  11. branch — of a bank
  12. root — the cause
  13. staff — employees
  14. rash — hasty
  15. roll — on a roll
  16. staff — a stick
  17. root — of a plant
  18. branch — a division
  19. roll — a list
  20. nail — for a hammer
  21. root — of a word
  22. cold — an illness
  23. object — an aim
  24. branch — of a tree

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