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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: rule · land · straw · field · root · chest · branch · perch

  1. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  2. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  3. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  4. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  5. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  6. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  7. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  8. When are we going to ________________?
  9. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  10. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  11. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  12. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  13. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  14. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  15. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  16. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  17. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  18. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  19. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  20. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  21. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  22. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  23. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  24. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.

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

Answer key

  1. branch — a division
  2. root — of a word
  3. chest — a box
  4. straw — dry grass
  5. chest — of your body
  6. branch — of a bank
  7. perch — the fish
  8. land — to come down
  9. perch — for a bird
  10. straw — a straw man
  11. field — for sport
  12. perch — for a bird
  13. rule — to rule out
  14. land — a country
  15. straw — to clutch at straws
  16. chest — of your body
  17. rule — a law
  18. rule — government
  19. field — farmland
  20. root — of a plant
  21. land — ground
  22. field — a subject
  23. root — the cause
  24. branch — of a tree

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