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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: bore · squash · root · roll · mate · branch · bat · file

  1. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  2. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  3. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  4. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  5. We're on a ________________ here.
  6. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  7. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  8. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  9. Have you found your soul ________________?
  10. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  11. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  12. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  13. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  14. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  15. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  16. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  17. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  18. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  19. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  20. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  21. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  22. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  23. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  24. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.

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

Answer key

  1. file — a tool
  2. squash — the vegetable
  3. squash — the sport
  4. bore — to drill
  5. roll — on a roll
  6. root — of a plant
  7. bore — gave birth
  8. root — of a word
  9. mate — a partner
  10. squash — to crush
  11. mate — a friend
  12. bat — in an idiom
  13. mate — to breed
  14. roll — a cake
  15. branch — a division
  16. bore — to tire
  17. bat — the animal
  18. bat — for baseball
  19. roll — a list
  20. branch — of a tree
  21. file — a document
  22. file — a line of people
  23. branch — of a bank
  24. root — the cause

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