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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. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  3. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  4. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  5. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  6. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  7. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  8. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  9. That was ________________ to happen.
  10. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  11. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  12. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  13. There's no middle ________________.
  14. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  15. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  16. Have you met the new head ________________?
  17. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  18. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  19. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  20. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  21. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  22. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  23. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  24. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.

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

Answer key

  1. stem — to come from
  2. branch — of a bank
  3. coach — a trainer
  4. coach — pulled by horses
  5. cap — a hat
  6. racket — a loud noise
  7. ground — crushed
  8. chest — of your body
  9. bound — certain
  10. ground — the earth
  11. branch — a division
  12. bound — obliged
  13. ground — a position
  14. stem — of a plant
  15. chest — of your body
  16. coach — a trainer
  17. cap — of ice
  18. chest — a box
  19. racket — for tennis
  20. stem — a stem cell
  21. bound — tied together
  22. racket — for tennis
  23. cap — a lid
  24. branch — of a tree

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