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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.

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: cold · branch · root · bulb · spring · current · rush · squash

  1. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  2. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  3. The water is too ________________.
  4. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  5. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  6. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  7. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  8. That must've been a ________________.
  9. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  10. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  11. I've got to change the light ________________.
  12. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  13. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  14. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  15. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  16. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  17. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  18. The light ________________ burned out.
  19. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  20. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  21. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  22. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  23. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  24. The flowers bloom in the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. current — electric
  2. squash — the sport
  3. cold — not warm
  4. squash — the vegetable
  5. branch — of a tree
  6. bulb — of a plant
  7. rush — hurry
  8. rush — a thrill
  9. current — of water
  10. spring — of water
  11. bulb — for light
  12. spring — a coil
  13. squash — to crush
  14. cold — the Cold War
  15. root — of a plant
  16. branch — a division
  17. root — the cause
  18. bulb — for light
  19. current — happening now
  20. cold — an illness
  21. branch — of a bank
  22. rush — to hurry
  23. root — of a word
  24. spring — the season

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