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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 116 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. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  2. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  3. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  4. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  5. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  6. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  7. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  8. There's no middle ________________.
  9. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  10. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  11. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  12. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  13. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  14. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  15. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  16. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  17. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  18. He is an ace ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pitcher — a jug
  2. stem — of a plant
  3. spring — the season
  4. stem — to come from
  5. branch — of a bank
  6. stick — a piece of wood
  7. ground — the earth
  8. ground — a position
  9. spring — of water
  10. pitcher — a jug
  11. spring — a coil
  12. stick — to attach or keep to
  13. stick — a piece of wood
  14. branch — a division
  15. ground — crushed
  16. stem — a stem cell
  17. branch — of a tree
  18. pitcher — in baseball

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