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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. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  3. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  4. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  5. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  6. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  7. My father caught me by the ________________.
  8. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  9. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  10. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  11. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  12. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  13. We're almost out of ________________.
  14. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  15. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  16. You don't need to ________________ round.
  17. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  18. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  19. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  20. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  21. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  22. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  23. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  24. Did you ________________ the meat?

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

Answer key

  1. stem — to come from
  2. racket — for tennis
  3. arm — a part of something
  4. mouse — the animal
  5. season — in sport
  6. stem — of a plant
  7. arm — part of the body
  8. season — of the year
  9. pop — music
  10. mouse — for a computer
  11. branch — a division
  12. branch — of a tree
  13. pop — soda
  14. mouse — the animal
  15. branch — of a bank
  16. pop — to visit
  17. arm — part of the body
  18. racket — a loud noise
  19. racket — for tennis
  20. shower — rain
  21. shower — to wash
  22. shower — a meteor shower
  23. stem — a stem cell
  24. season — to add flavour

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