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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. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  2. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  3. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  4. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  5. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  6. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  7. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  8. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  9. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  10. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  11. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  12. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  13. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  14. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  15. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  16. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  17. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  18. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  19. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  20. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  21. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  22. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  23. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  24. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.

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

Answer key

  1. stem — a stem cell
  2. stem — to come from
  3. wound — an injury
  4. spring — of water
  5. rule — government
  6. capital — a city
  7. stem — of a plant
  8. capital — money
  9. branch — of a tree
  10. drill — army training
  11. wound — past of 'wind'
  12. branch — of a bank
  13. drill — the tool
  14. fork — in a road
  15. fork — a garden tool
  16. spring — the season
  17. rule — a law
  18. spring — a coil
  19. capital — a big letter
  20. drill — a practice
  21. branch — a division
  22. wound — an injury
  23. fork — to eat with
  24. rule — to rule out

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