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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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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. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  2. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  3. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  4. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  5. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  6. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  7. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  8. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  9. We're on a ________________ here.
  10. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  11. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  12. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  13. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  14. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  15. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  16. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  17. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  18. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  19. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  20. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  21. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  22. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  23. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  24. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.

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

Answer key

  1. kick — a thrill
  2. roll — a list
  3. stem — a stem cell
  4. branch — of a bank
  5. kick — in football
  6. branch — of a tree
  7. field — farmland
  8. kick — with a leg
  9. roll — on a roll
  10. squash — the vegetable
  11. stem — of a plant
  12. squash — to crush
  13. board — to get on
  14. field — for sport
  15. squash — the sport
  16. stem — to come from
  17. straw — dry grass
  18. board — a committee
  19. roll — a cake
  20. branch — a division
  21. straw — to clutch at straws
  22. field — a subject
  23. board — a flat piece
  24. straw — a straw man

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