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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 120 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. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  2. I can't ________________ this cold.
  3. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  4. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  5. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  6. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  7. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  8. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  9. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  10. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  11. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  12. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  13. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  14. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  15. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  16. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  17. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  18. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  19. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  20. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  21. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  22. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  23. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  24. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. shower — a meteor shower
  2. stand — to bear
  3. branch — of a tree
  4. mark — a trace
  5. hand — help
  6. stem — to come from
  7. stem — a stem cell
  8. mark — to pay attention
  9. branch — a division
  10. hand — part of the body
  11. stand — on your feet
  12. stand — for spectators
  13. wake — to stop sleeping
  14. shower — rain
  15. branch — of a bank
  16. hand — in cards
  17. row — a quarrel
  18. mark — a grade
  19. wake — before a funeral
  20. row — a line
  21. row — to paddle
  22. wake — a trail
  23. shower — to wash
  24. stem — of a plant

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