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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. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  3. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  4. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  5. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  6. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  7. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  8. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  9. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  10. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  11. I'll be taking the ________________.
  12. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  13. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  14. The water is too ________________.
  15. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  16. The ________________ market has crashed.
  17. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  18. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  19. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  20. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  21. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  22. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  23. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  24. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.

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

Answer key

  1. stem — to come from
  2. leaves — to go away
  3. stock — goods
  4. leaves — of a tree
  5. cold — the Cold War
  6. dip — to dunk
  7. stem — of a plant
  8. present — a gift
  9. dip — a sauce
  10. present — there
  11. tube — the underground
  12. cold — an illness
  13. tube — in a tire
  14. cold — not warm
  15. leaves — lets stay
  16. stock — shares
  17. stem — a stem cell
  18. branch — a division
  19. stock — a soup base
  20. branch — of a tree
  21. dip — to sink
  22. branch — of a bank
  23. present — the time now
  24. tube — a container

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