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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. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  2. He was locked up in a ________________.
  3. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  4. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  5. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  6. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  7. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  8. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  9. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  10. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  11. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  12. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  13. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  14. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  15. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  16. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  17. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  18. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  19. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  20. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  21. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  22. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  23. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  24. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.

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

Answer key

  1. stem — of a plant
  2. cell — in a prison
  3. cell — in biology
  4. wind — moving air
  5. stem — a stem cell
  6. wind — to turn a key
  7. bat — for baseball
  8. cell — a phone
  9. stem — to come from
  10. mouse — for a computer
  11. bat — the animal
  12. wound — an injury
  13. capital — money
  14. branch — of a tree
  15. mouse — the animal
  16. bat — in an idiom
  17. wound — an injury
  18. wind — moving air
  19. capital — a city
  20. branch — a division
  21. wound — past of 'wind'
  22. mouse — the animal
  23. capital — a big letter
  24. branch — of a bank

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