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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. Where did you ________________ them?
  2. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  3. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  4. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  5. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  6. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  7. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  8. The water is too ________________.
  9. David sat on the ________________.
  10. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  11. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  12. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  13. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  14. I've got to change the light ________________.
  15. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  16. The light ________________ burned out.
  17. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  18. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  19. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  20. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  21. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  22. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  23. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  24. Do you need a ________________ with that?

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

Answer key

  1. mug — to rob
  2. branch — of a tree
  3. branch — a division
  4. swing — in golf
  5. stem — to come from
  6. mug — a face
  7. stem — of a plant
  8. cold — not warm
  9. swing — to play on
  10. degree — from a university
  11. degree — temperature
  12. degree — an amount
  13. mug — a cup
  14. bulb — for light
  15. cold — an illness
  16. bulb — for light
  17. bulb — of a plant
  18. stem — a stem cell
  19. hand — in cards
  20. cold — the Cold War
  21. swing — music
  22. branch — of a bank
  23. hand — part of the body
  24. hand — help

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