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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. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  3. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  4. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  5. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  6. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  7. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  8. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  9. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  10. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  11. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  12. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  13. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  14. We're on a ________________ here.
  15. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  16. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  17. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  18. Have you settled on a ________________?
  19. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  20. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  21. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  22. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  23. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  24. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. stem — of a plant
  2. wind — moving air
  3. date — on the calendar
  4. wind — to turn a key
  5. branch — of a tree
  6. roll — a cake
  7. net — in sport
  8. capital — a city
  9. stem — a stem cell
  10. roll — a list
  11. lean — to rest against
  12. net — after costs
  13. net — for catching
  14. roll — on a roll
  15. capital — a big letter
  16. branch — of a bank
  17. lean — thin
  18. date — on the calendar
  19. date — the fruit
  20. lean — to bend
  21. branch — a division
  22. stem — to come from
  23. wind — moving air
  24. capital — money

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