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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 116 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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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: cold · root · prune · branch · kid · season · wound · cue

  1. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  2. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  3. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  4. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  5. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  6. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  7. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  8. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  9. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  10. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  11. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  12. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  13. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  14. The water is too ________________.
  15. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  16. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  17. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  18. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  19. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  20. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  21. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  22. Did you ________________ the meat?
  23. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  24. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.

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

Answer key

  1. cue — for pool
  2. kid — child
  3. cue — a hint
  4. root — of a plant
  5. season — of the year
  6. cue — a signal
  7. wound — an injury
  8. season — in sport
  9. branch — of a bank
  10. cold — the Cold War
  11. wound — an injury
  12. branch — a division
  13. kid — to tease
  14. cold — not warm
  15. prune — to trim
  16. prune — to trim
  17. prune — the fruit
  18. root — of a word
  19. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  20. root — the cause
  21. branch — of a tree
  22. season — to add flavour
  23. wound — past of 'wind'
  24. cold — an illness

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