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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 116 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: band · drill · object · root · tube · craft · snap · branch

  1. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  2. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  3. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  4. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  5. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  6. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  7. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  8. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  9. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  10. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  11. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  12. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  13. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  14. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  15. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  16. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  17. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  18. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  19. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  20. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  21. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  22. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  23. I'll be taking the ________________.
  24. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. snap — to snap out of it
  2. craft — a handicraft
  3. branch — a division
  4. tube — in a tire
  5. band — a ring
  6. object — to protest
  7. band — a rubber band
  8. branch — of a bank
  9. tube — a container
  10. snap — to click
  11. root — of a word
  12. craft — a skill
  13. drill — the tool
  14. root — of a plant
  15. craft — boats
  16. band — a music group
  17. snap — to speak sharply
  18. object — a thing
  19. root — the cause
  20. drill — a practice
  21. branch — of a tree
  22. drill — army training
  23. tube — the underground
  24. object — an aim

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