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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: can · spring · root · tear · branch · drill · cold · calf

  1. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  2. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  3. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  4. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  5. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  6. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  7. The water is too ________________.
  8. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  9. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  10. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  11. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  12. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  13. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  14. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  15. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  16. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  17. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  18. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  19. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  20. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  21. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  22. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  23. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  24. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — an illness
  2. spring — of water
  3. root — of a plant
  4. drill — a practice
  5. branch — of a bank
  6. calf — a young animal
  7. cold — not warm
  8. calf — a young animal
  9. drill — army training
  10. root — the cause
  11. can — to be able to
  12. spring — a coil
  13. branch — a division
  14. can — a tin
  15. cold — the Cold War
  16. spring — the season
  17. drill — the tool
  18. tear — to rip
  19. calf — of the leg
  20. tear — from crying
  21. can — a tin
  22. branch — of a tree
  23. tear — from crying
  24. root — of a word

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