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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. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  2. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  3. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  4. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  5. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  6. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  7. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  8. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  9. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  10. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  11. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  12. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  13. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  14. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  15. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  16. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  17. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  18. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  19. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  20. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  21. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  22. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  23. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  24. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.

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

Answer key

  1. bear — the animal
  2. leaves — lets stay
  3. leaves — of a tree
  4. spring — the season
  5. file — a document
  6. branch — of a bank
  7. mine — for digging
  8. mine — an explosive
  9. wake — to stop sleeping
  10. mine — belonging to me
  11. spring — of water
  12. branch — of a tree
  13. stem — a stem cell
  14. branch — a division
  15. bear — the animal
  16. wake — before a funeral
  17. spring — a coil
  18. stem — to come from
  19. leaves — to go away
  20. stem — of a plant
  21. bear — to put up with
  22. file — a tool
  23. file — a line of people
  24. wake — a trail

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