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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: craft · deal · cold · drill · root · nail · spring · branch

  1. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  2. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  3. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  4. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  5. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  6. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  7. The water is too ________________.
  8. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  9. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  10. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  11. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  12. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  13. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  14. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  15. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  16. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  17. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  18. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  19. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  20. The ________________ went through the wall.
  21. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  22. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  23. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  24. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.

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

Answer key

  1. craft — a skill
  2. cold — an illness
  3. deal — a big deal
  4. craft — boats
  5. spring — of water
  6. cold — the Cold War
  7. cold — not warm
  8. craft — a handicraft
  9. deal — to handle
  10. root — of a word
  11. branch — of a tree
  12. root — of a plant
  13. nail — for a hammer
  14. spring — the season
  15. branch — of a bank
  16. drill — army training
  17. spring — a coil
  18. branch — a division
  19. root — the cause
  20. nail — for a hammer
  21. drill — the tool
  22. deal — an agreement
  23. drill — a practice
  24. nail — on a finger

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