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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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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: branch · last · cue · wind · press · fall · root · tube

  1. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  2. False peace will not ________________.
  3. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  4. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  5. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  6. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  7. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  8. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  9. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  10. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  11. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  12. Did you ________________ the button?
  13. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  14. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  15. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  16. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  17. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  18. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  19. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  20. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  21. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  22. I'll be taking the ________________.
  23. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  24. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.

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

Answer key

  1. wind — moving air
  2. last — to go on
  3. fall — to drop
  4. tube — in a tire
  5. fall — to drop
  6. fall — the season
  7. wind — to turn a key
  8. press — newspapers
  9. press — a publisher
  10. tube — a container
  11. root — the cause
  12. press — to push
  13. wind — moving air
  14. cue — a hint
  15. branch — of a bank
  16. branch — a division
  17. last — final
  18. last — finally
  19. root — of a word
  20. branch — of a tree
  21. root — of a plant
  22. tube — the underground
  23. cue — for pool
  24. cue — a signal

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