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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. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  2. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  3. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  4. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  5. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  6. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  7. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  8. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  9. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  10. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  11. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  12. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  13. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  14. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  15. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  16. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  17. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  18. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  19. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  20. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  21. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  22. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  23. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  24. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. net — for catching
  2. squash — the sport
  3. track — a path
  4. net — in sport
  5. branch — of a bank
  6. stem — to come from
  7. patient — calm and waiting
  8. track — to keep track
  9. track — a song
  10. file — a document
  11. patient — a sick person
  12. stem — a stem cell
  13. branch — a division
  14. branch — of a tree
  15. root — the cause
  16. squash — to crush
  17. squash — the vegetable
  18. file — a line of people
  19. root — of a word
  20. stem — of a plant
  21. patient — a sick person
  22. net — after costs
  23. root — of a plant
  24. file — a tool

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