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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. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  3. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  4. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  5. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  6. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  7. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  8. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  9. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  10. The water is too ________________.
  11. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  12. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  13. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  14. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  15. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  16. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  17. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  18. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  19. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  20. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  21. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  22. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  23. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  24. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.

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

Answer key

  1. stem — of a plant
  2. cue — a hint
  3. toast — the most admired
  4. snap — to click
  5. field — for sport
  6. branch — of a bank
  7. stem — to come from
  8. can — a tin
  9. branch — of a tree
  10. cold — not warm
  11. toast — bread
  12. snap — to snap out of it
  13. cold — an illness
  14. can — a tin
  15. cue — for pool
  16. toast — a drink to someone
  17. branch — a division
  18. field — a subject
  19. cold — the Cold War
  20. can — to be able to
  21. field — farmland
  22. cue — a signal
  23. snap — to speak sharply
  24. stem — a stem cell

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