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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 124 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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468
Word bank
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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 hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  2. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  3. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  4. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  5. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  6. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  7. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  8. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  9. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  10. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  11. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  12. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  13. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  14. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  15. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  16. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  17. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  18. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  19. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  20. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  21. The water is too ________________.
  22. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  23. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  24. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.

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

Answer key

  1. mark — a trace
  2. bowl — a football final
  3. stem — a stem cell
  4. mark — a grade
  5. cap — a lid
  6. mark — to pay attention
  7. branch — of a bank
  8. stem — to come from
  9. cold — the Cold War
  10. snap — to snap out of it
  11. branch — a division
  12. stem — of a plant
  13. bowl — to roll
  14. cold — an illness
  15. bowl — a dish
  16. stick — to attach or keep to
  17. branch — of a tree
  18. cap — a hat
  19. cap — of ice
  20. snap — to click
  21. cold — not warm
  22. stick — a piece of wood
  23. stick — a piece of wood
  24. snap — to speak sharply

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