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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. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  2. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  3. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  4. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  5. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  6. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  7. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  8. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  9. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  10. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  11. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  12. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  13. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  14. It's one o'clock ________________.
  15. There's no middle ________________.
  16. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  17. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  18. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  19. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  20. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  21. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  22. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  23. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  24. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.

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

Answer key

  1. branch — of a bank
  2. stick — to attach or keep to
  3. branch — a division
  4. bat — the animal
  5. bat — for baseball
  6. bat — in an idiom
  7. branch — of a tree
  8. sharp — clever
  9. wake — before a funeral
  10. ground — crushed
  11. stick — a piece of wood
  12. ground — the earth
  13. stick — a piece of wood
  14. sharp — exactly
  15. ground — a position
  16. stem — to come from
  17. sharp — with an edge
  18. row — a line
  19. wake — to stop sleeping
  20. stem — a stem cell
  21. stem — of a plant
  22. row — a quarrel
  23. row — to paddle
  24. wake — a trail

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