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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. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  2. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  3. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  4. The water is too ________________.
  5. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  6. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  7. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  8. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  9. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  10. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  11. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  12. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  13. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  14. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  15. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  16. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  17. I'll be taking the ________________.
  18. Have you found your soul ________________?
  19. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  20. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  21. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  22. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  23. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  24. The ________________ went through the wall.

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

Answer key

  1. branch — of a bank
  2. hide — animal skin
  3. branch — a division
  4. cold — not warm
  5. stem — to come from
  6. cold — an illness
  7. squash — the vegetable
  8. tube — in a tire
  9. hide — to keep secret
  10. squash — to crush
  11. mate — a friend
  12. hide — to keep secret
  13. squash — the sport
  14. mate — to breed
  15. stem — of a plant
  16. tube — a container
  17. tube — the underground
  18. mate — a partner
  19. stem — a stem cell
  20. nail — on a finger
  21. nail — for a hammer
  22. branch — of a tree
  23. cold — the Cold War
  24. nail — for a hammer

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