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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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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  2. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  3. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  4. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  5. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  6. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  7. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  8. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  9. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  10. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  11. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  12. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  13. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  14. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  15. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  16. The water is too ________________.
  17. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  18. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.

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

Answer key

  1. present — the time now
  2. fall — the season
  3. cold — an illness
  4. stem — of a plant
  5. present — there
  6. stem — a stem cell
  7. squash — to crush
  8. branch — of a bank
  9. fall — to drop
  10. branch — a division
  11. present — a gift
  12. branch — of a tree
  13. fall — to drop
  14. stem — to come from
  15. squash — the vegetable
  16. cold — not warm
  17. squash — the sport
  18. cold — the Cold War

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