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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. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  2. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  3. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  4. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  5. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  6. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  7. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  8. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  9. Did you ________________ the meat?
  10. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  11. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  12. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  13. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  14. He was locked up in a ________________.
  15. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  16. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  17. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  18. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  19. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  20. The water is too ________________.
  21. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  22. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  23. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  24. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.

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

Answer key

  1. branch — of a tree
  2. cell — a phone
  3. season — of the year
  4. branch — of a bank
  5. stem — to come from
  6. racket — a loud noise
  7. racket — for tennis
  8. safe — a strongbox
  9. season — to add flavour
  10. cold — the Cold War
  11. safe — out of danger
  12. cold — an illness
  13. cell — in biology
  14. cell — in a prison
  15. tear — to rip
  16. safe — out of danger
  17. branch — a division
  18. tear — from crying
  19. stem — of a plant
  20. cold — not warm
  21. racket — for tennis
  22. stem — a stem cell
  23. season — in sport
  24. tear — from crying

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