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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. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  2. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  3. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  4. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  5. That must've been a ________________.
  6. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  7. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  8. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  9. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  10. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  11. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  12. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  13. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  14. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  15. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  16. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  17. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  18. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  19. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  20. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  21. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  22. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  23. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  24. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. branch — of a bank
  2. kid — to tease
  3. stem — to come from
  4. bat — for baseball
  5. rush — a thrill
  6. pit — a hole
  7. straw — to clutch at straws
  8. rush — to hurry
  9. straw — dry grass
  10. stem — a stem cell
  11. straw — a straw man
  12. rush — hurry
  13. bank — for money
  14. bank — for money
  15. bat — the animal
  16. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  17. stem — of a plant
  18. pit — a fruit stone
  19. branch — a division
  20. branch — of a tree
  21. bat — in an idiom
  22. pit — in a race
  23. kid — child
  24. bank — of a river

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