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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. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  2. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  3. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  4. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  5. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  6. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  7. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  8. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  9. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  10. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  11. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  12. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  13. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  14. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  15. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  16. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  17. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  18. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  19. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  20. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  21. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  22. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  23. He was locked up in a ________________.
  24. He is as ________________ as a wolf.

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

Answer key

  1. stem — to come from
  2. fine — all right
  3. branch — a division
  4. stem — a stem cell
  5. lean — to rest against
  6. race — humankind
  7. branch — of a tree
  8. content — the amount
  9. fine — high quality
  10. fine — a penalty
  11. race — the arms race
  12. lean — to bend
  13. cell — in biology
  14. stem — of a plant
  15. content — videos and posts
  16. capital — money
  17. branch — of a bank
  18. race — a contest
  19. content — happy
  20. capital — a big letter
  21. cell — a phone
  22. capital — a city
  23. cell — in a prison
  24. lean — thin

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