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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 120 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: spell · branch · root · cold · foot · stem · kid · wax

  1. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  2. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  3. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  4. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  5. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  6. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  7. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  8. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  9. How do you ________________ your surname?
  10. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  11. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  12. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  13. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  14. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  15. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  16. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  17. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  18. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  19. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  20. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  21. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  22. The water is too ________________.
  23. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  24. Biology is a ________________ of science.

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

Answer key

  1. foot — part of the body
  2. root — of a word
  3. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  4. wax — in the ear
  5. branch — of a tree
  6. foot — the bottom
  7. stem — a stem cell
  8. spell — a short time
  9. spell — letters
  10. branch — of a bank
  11. stem — to come from
  12. cold — the Cold War
  13. wax — for sculpting
  14. wax — to grow
  15. cold — an illness
  16. spell — magic
  17. stem — of a plant
  18. kid — to tease
  19. root — the cause
  20. kid — child
  21. foot — a measure
  22. cold — not warm
  23. root — of a plant
  24. branch — a division

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