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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. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  2. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  3. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  4. We're on a ________________ here.
  5. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  6. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  7. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  8. False peace will not ________________.
  9. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  10. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  11. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  12. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  13. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  14. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  15. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  16. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  17. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  18. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  19. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  20. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  21. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  22. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  23. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  24. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. last — final
  2. roll — a list
  3. stem — a stem cell
  4. roll — on a roll
  5. hand — in cards
  6. stem — of a plant
  7. stem — to come from
  8. last — to go on
  9. scale — for weighing
  10. prune — to trim
  11. branch — of a tree
  12. prune — to trim
  13. branch — of a bank
  14. hand — part of the body
  15. prune — the fruit
  16. last — finally
  17. hand — help
  18. scale — size or range
  19. bass — the instrument
  20. branch — a division
  21. bass — the fish
  22. scale — in music
  23. bass — low music
  24. roll — a cake

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