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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. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  2. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  3. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  4. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  5. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  6. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  7. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  8. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  9. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  10. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  11. That was a fun ________________.
  12. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  13. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  14. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  15. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  16. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  17. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  18. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  19. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  20. The ________________ went through the wall.
  21. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  22. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  23. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  24. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. stem — to come from
  2. stem — of a plant
  3. stem — a stem cell
  4. branch — of a tree
  5. clip — a video
  6. clip — to cut
  7. kid — to tease
  8. trunk — of an elephant
  9. lean — to bend
  10. kid — child
  11. game — a match
  12. nail — for a hammer
  13. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  14. lean — thin
  15. branch — a division
  16. lean — to rest against
  17. nail — on a finger
  18. game — a kind of play
  19. trunk — of a car
  20. nail — for a hammer
  21. branch — of a bank
  22. trunk — of a tree
  23. clip — for paper
  24. game — wild animals

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