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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: bowl · current · root · branch · bore · cold · pop · wound

  1. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  2. The water is too ________________.
  3. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  4. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  5. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  6. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  7. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  8. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  9. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  10. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  11. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  12. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  13. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  14. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  15. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  16. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  17. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  18. We're almost out of ________________.
  19. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  20. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  21. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  22. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  23. You don't need to ________________ round.
  24. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. branch — of a tree
  2. cold — not warm
  3. root — of a plant
  4. bowl — to roll
  5. bore — to tire
  6. bowl — a dish
  7. cold — an illness
  8. bowl — a football final
  9. current — happening now
  10. branch — a division
  11. root — the cause
  12. wound — an injury
  13. pop — music
  14. current — of water
  15. wound — an injury
  16. branch — of a bank
  17. bore — to drill
  18. pop — soda
  19. root — of a word
  20. bore — gave birth
  21. cold — the Cold War
  22. wound — past of 'wind'
  23. pop — to visit
  24. current — electric

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