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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. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  2. We're on a ________________ here.
  3. The water is too ________________.
  4. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  5. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  6. I'll be taking the ________________.
  7. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  8. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  9. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  10. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  11. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  12. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  13. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  14. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  15. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  16. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  17. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  18. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  19. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  20. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  21. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  22. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  23. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  24. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.

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

Answer key

  1. roll — a cake
  2. roll — on a roll
  3. cold — not warm
  4. branch — a division
  5. wound — an injury
  6. tube — the underground
  7. stem — of a plant
  8. branch — of a bank
  9. stem — a stem cell
  10. wound — past of 'wind'
  11. tube — in a tire
  12. wound — an injury
  13. mark — to pay attention
  14. firm — a company
  15. firm — steady
  16. cold — the Cold War
  17. branch — of a tree
  18. firm — decided
  19. cold — an illness
  20. mark — a grade
  21. mark — a trace
  22. stem — to come from
  23. tube — a container
  24. roll — a list

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