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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. My mare is ________________ in color.
  2. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  3. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  4. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  5. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  6. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  7. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  8. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  9. That was a fun ________________.
  10. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  11. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  12. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  13. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  14. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  15. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  16. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  17. He was locked up in a ________________.
  18. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  19. Where did you ________________ them?
  20. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  21. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  22. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  23. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  24. Biology is a ________________ of science.

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

Answer key

  1. bay — a horse colour
  2. mug — a face
  3. game — a kind of play
  4. branch — of a tree
  5. branch — of a bank
  6. hide — to keep secret
  7. spring — the season
  8. spring — a coil
  9. game — a match
  10. hide — animal skin
  11. stem — of a plant
  12. hide — to keep secret
  13. bay — a part of the sea
  14. bay — to keep at bay
  15. cell — in biology
  16. cell — a phone
  17. cell — in a prison
  18. mug — a cup
  19. mug — to rob
  20. stem — a stem cell
  21. stem — to come from
  22. game — wild animals
  23. spring — of water
  24. branch — a division

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