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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. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  2. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  3. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  4. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  5. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  6. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  7. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  8. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  9. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  10. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  11. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  12. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  13. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  14. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  15. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  16. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  17. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  18. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  19. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  20. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  21. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  22. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  23. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  24. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.

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

Answer key

  1. staff — a stick
  2. branch — of a bank
  3. jam — in traffic
  4. jam — to spread on bread
  5. tear — from crying
  6. content — the amount
  7. jam — a tight spot
  8. stem — of a plant
  9. tear — to rip
  10. branch — of a tree
  11. staff — employees
  12. wind — moving air
  13. staff — employees
  14. stem — to come from
  15. branch — a division
  16. field — farmland
  17. wind — moving air
  18. stem — a stem cell
  19. content — happy
  20. field — for sport
  21. content — videos and posts
  22. field — a subject
  23. wind — to turn a key
  24. tear — from crying

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