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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 museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  2. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  3. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  4. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  5. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  6. It's one o'clock ________________.
  7. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  8. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  9. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  10. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  11. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  12. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  13. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  14. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  15. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  16. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  17. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  18. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  19. When was this ________________ built?
  20. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  21. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  22. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  23. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  24. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.

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

Answer key

  1. wax — for sculpting
  2. sharp — clever
  3. leaves — to go away
  4. leaves — of a tree
  5. stem — to come from
  6. sharp — exactly
  7. leaves — lets stay
  8. trunk — of a car
  9. sharp — with an edge
  10. temple — side of the head
  11. trunk — of a tree
  12. capital — a city
  13. temple — a place of worship
  14. stem — of a plant
  15. trunk — of an elephant
  16. wax — in the ear
  17. stem — a stem cell
  18. branch — of a tree
  19. temple — a place of worship
  20. wax — to grow
  21. capital — a big letter
  22. branch — a division
  23. capital — money
  24. branch — of a bank

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