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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. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  2. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  3. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  4. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  5. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  6. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  7. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  8. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  9. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  10. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  11. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  12. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  13. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  14. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  15. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  16. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  17. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  18. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  19. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  20. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  21. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  22. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  23. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  24. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.

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

Answer key

  1. stem — to come from
  2. branch — of a bank
  3. pass — a permit
  4. prune — to trim
  5. trunk — of an elephant
  6. pass — to spend time
  7. branch — of a tree
  8. snap — to click
  9. prune — the fruit
  10. branch — a division
  11. snap — to snap out of it
  12. scale — size or range
  13. stem — of a plant
  14. snap — to speak sharply
  15. capital — a city
  16. pass — to succeed
  17. scale — for weighing
  18. stem — a stem cell
  19. capital — a big letter
  20. scale — in music
  21. capital — money
  22. trunk — of a car
  23. trunk — of a tree
  24. prune — to trim

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