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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 120 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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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: object · branch · root · dip · pop · land · hand · mine

  1. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  2. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  3. You don't need to ________________ round.
  4. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  5. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  6. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  7. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  8. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  9. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  10. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  11. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  12. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  13. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  14. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  15. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  16. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  17. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  18. We're almost out of ________________.
  19. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  20. When are we going to ________________?
  21. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  22. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  23. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  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. root — of a word
  2. dip — a sauce
  3. pop — to visit
  4. hand — part of the body
  5. branch — of a bank
  6. hand — help
  7. pop — music
  8. mine — an explosive
  9. object — an aim
  10. root — of a plant
  11. land — ground
  12. object — a thing
  13. root — the cause
  14. dip — to sink
  15. branch — a division
  16. mine — belonging to me
  17. hand — in cards
  18. pop — soda
  19. object — to protest
  20. land — to come down
  21. land — a country
  22. mine — for digging
  23. dip — to dunk
  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