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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. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  2. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  3. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  4. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  5. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  6. The water is too ________________.
  7. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  8. False peace will not ________________.
  9. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  10. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  11. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  12. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  13. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  14. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  15. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  16. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  17. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  18. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  19. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  20. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  21. Don't do anything ________________.
  22. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  23. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  24. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.

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

Answer key

  1. last — finally
  2. board — a flat piece
  3. trunk — of an elephant
  4. stem — a stem cell
  5. bowl — a dish
  6. cold — not warm
  7. bowl — a football final
  8. last — to go on
  9. bowl — to roll
  10. trunk — of a car
  11. last — final
  12. cold — the Cold War
  13. rash — a series
  14. stem — to come from
  15. board — a committee
  16. trunk — of a tree
  17. branch — a division
  18. branch — of a tree
  19. rash — on the skin
  20. branch — of a bank
  21. rash — hasty
  22. stem — of a plant
  23. board — to get on
  24. cold — an illness

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