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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 116 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 information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  2. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  3. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  4. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  5. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  6. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  7. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  8. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  9. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  10. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  11. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  12. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  13. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  14. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  15. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  16. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  17. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  18. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  19. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  20. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  21. He was locked up in a ________________.
  22. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  23. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  24. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. file — a document
  2. stem — of a plant
  3. branch — of a tree
  4. wake — a trail
  5. cell — in biology
  6. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  7. bowl — to roll
  8. cell — a phone
  9. wake — before a funeral
  10. capital — a big letter
  11. file — a tool
  12. branch — a division
  13. stem — to come from
  14. bowl — a dish
  15. capital — money
  16. branch — of a bank
  17. wake — to stop sleeping
  18. kid — to tease
  19. capital — a city
  20. bowl — a football final
  21. cell — in a prison
  22. file — a line of people
  23. stem — a stem cell
  24. kid — child

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