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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 big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  2. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  3. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  4. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  5. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  6. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  7. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  8. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  9. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  10. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  11. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  12. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  13. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  14. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  15. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  16. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  17. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  18. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  19. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  20. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  21. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  22. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  23. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  24. Many English words ________________ from Latin.

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

Answer key

  1. stem — of a plant
  2. field — farmland
  3. snap — to snap out of it
  4. branch — of a bank
  5. ruler — a monarch
  6. ruler — for measuring
  7. stem — a stem cell
  8. branch — a division
  9. field — a subject
  10. scale — in music
  11. branch — of a tree
  12. bat — the animal
  13. snap — to click
  14. bat — in an idiom
  15. content — videos and posts
  16. scale — for weighing
  17. content — the amount
  18. snap — to speak sharply
  19. bat — for baseball
  20. ruler — for measuring
  21. scale — size or range
  22. field — for sport
  23. content — happy
  24. stem — to come from

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