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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. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  2. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  3. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  4. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  5. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  6. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  7. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  8. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  9. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  10. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  11. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  12. Have you found your soul ________________?
  13. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  14. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  15. Did you ________________ the button?
  16. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  17. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  18. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  19. False peace will not ________________.
  20. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  21. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  22. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  23. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  24. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?

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

Answer key

  1. stem — of a plant
  2. branch — of a tree
  3. clip — to cut
  4. staff — a stick
  5. staff — employees
  6. press — newspapers
  7. press — a publisher
  8. last — final
  9. branch — a division
  10. clip — for paper
  11. stem — to come from
  12. mate — a partner
  13. branch — of a bank
  14. mate — to breed
  15. press — to push
  16. stem — a stem cell
  17. staff — employees
  18. mate — a friend
  19. last — to go on
  20. clip — a video
  21. last — finally
  22. bore — gave birth
  23. bore — to drill
  24. bore — to tire

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