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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. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  2. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  3. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  4. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  5. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  6. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  7. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  8. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  9. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  10. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  11. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  12. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  13. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  14. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  15. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  16. Have you met the new head ________________?
  17. That was a fun ________________.
  18. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  19. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  20. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  21. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  22. What do you think of the new ________________?
  23. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  24. False peace will not ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. stem — to come from
  2. cabinet — ministers
  3. coach — pulled by horses
  4. bear — to put up with
  5. branch — of a tree
  6. stem — of a plant
  7. wound — an injury
  8. last — final
  9. game — wild animals
  10. bear — the animal
  11. stem — a stem cell
  12. branch — a division
  13. cabinet — a cupboard
  14. coach — a trainer
  15. bear — the animal
  16. coach — a trainer
  17. game — a match
  18. branch — of a bank
  19. game — a kind of play
  20. wound — past of 'wind'
  21. wound — an injury
  22. cabinet — ministers
  23. last — finally
  24. last — to go on

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