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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. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  2. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  3. David sat on the ________________.
  4. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  5. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  6. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  7. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  8. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  9. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  10. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  11. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  12. He was locked up in a ________________.
  13. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  14. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  15. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  16. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  17. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  18. 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. squash — the vegetable
  2. stem — of a plant
  3. swing — to play on
  4. swing — music
  5. squash — the sport
  6. branch — a division
  7. swing — in golf
  8. stem — to come from
  9. file — a line of people
  10. branch — of a bank
  11. file — a tool
  12. cell — in a prison
  13. squash — to crush
  14. cell — a phone
  15. stem — a stem cell
  16. file — a document
  17. cell — in biology
  18. 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