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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. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  2. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  3. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  4. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  5. The water is too ________________.
  6. When will it ________________ you to start?
  7. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  8. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  9. Have you found your soul ________________?
  10. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  11. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  12. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  13. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  14. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  15. I'll be taking the ________________.
  16. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  17. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  18. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  19. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  20. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  21. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  22. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  23. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  24. Have you met the new head ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. stem — to come from
  2. mate — a friend
  3. coach — pulled by horses
  4. suit — in cards
  5. cold — not warm
  6. suit — to fit
  7. branch — of a tree
  8. tube — a container
  9. mate — a partner
  10. cold — the Cold War
  11. branch — a division
  12. suit — clothes
  13. mate — to breed
  14. cold — an illness
  15. tube — the underground
  16. mine — an explosive
  17. stem — of a plant
  18. mine — for digging
  19. tube — in a tire
  20. branch — of a bank
  21. stem — a stem cell
  22. mine — belonging to me
  23. coach — a trainer
  24. coach — a trainer

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