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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: root · kid · mine · trunk · lash · season · branch · club

  1. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  2. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  3. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  4. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  5. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  6. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  7. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  8. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  9. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  10. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  11. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  12. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  13. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  14. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  15. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  16. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  17. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  18. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  19. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  20. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  21. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  22. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  23. Did you ________________ the meat?
  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. mine — an explosive
  2. root — of a word
  3. mine — for digging
  4. trunk — of an elephant
  5. lash — an eyelash
  6. trunk — of a tree
  7. trunk — of a car
  8. lash — to lash out
  9. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  10. kid — child
  11. season — in sport
  12. root — of a plant
  13. branch — a division
  14. club — for golf
  15. kid — to tease
  16. season — of the year
  17. root — the cause
  18. lash — a whip stroke
  19. club — a group
  20. mine — belonging to me
  21. club — for dancing
  22. branch — of a bank
  23. season — to add flavour
  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