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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. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  2. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  3. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  4. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  5. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  6. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  7. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  8. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  9. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  10. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  11. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  12. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  13. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  14. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  15. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  16. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  17. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  18. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  19. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  20. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  21. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  22. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  23. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  24. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.

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

Answer key

  1. stem — a stem cell
  2. perch — for a bird
  3. rest — a break
  4. band — a ring
  5. file — a document
  6. band — a rubber band
  7. perch — the fish
  8. branch — a division
  9. stem — to come from
  10. bark — of a tree
  11. file — a tool
  12. leaves — lets stay
  13. leaves — of a tree
  14. branch — of a bank
  15. leaves — to go away
  16. band — a music group
  17. stem — of a plant
  18. branch — of a tree
  19. rest — what's left
  20. perch — for a bird
  21. bark — a dog's sound
  22. file — a line of people
  23. bark — to shout
  24. rest — what's left

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