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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 120 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. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  2. Did you ________________ the meat?
  3. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  4. He was locked up in a ________________.
  5. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  6. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  7. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  8. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  9. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  10. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  11. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  12. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  13. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  14. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  15. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  16. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  17. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  18. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  19. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  20. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  21. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  22. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  23. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  24. The train ________________ at six o'clock.

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

Answer key

  1. branch — a division
  2. season — to add flavour
  3. season — in sport
  4. cell — in a prison
  5. stem — of a plant
  6. mine — for digging
  7. current — happening now
  8. cell — in biology
  9. current — of water
  10. leaves — of a tree
  11. current — electric
  12. mine — an explosive
  13. leaves — lets stay
  14. stem — to come from
  15. branch — of a bank
  16. stem — a stem cell
  17. mine — belonging to me
  18. prune — to trim
  19. cell — a phone
  20. season — of the year
  21. prune — to trim
  22. branch — of a tree
  23. prune — the fruit
  24. leaves — to go away

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