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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. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  2. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  3. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  4. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  5. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  6. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  7. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  8. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  9. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  10. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  11. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  12. The ________________ took off on time.
  13. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  14. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  15. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  16. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  17. What do you think of the new ________________?
  18. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  19. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  20. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  21. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  22. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  23. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  24. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. chest — of your body
  2. perch — for a bird
  3. stem — to come from
  4. plane — a tool
  5. branch — of a tree
  6. stem — of a plant
  7. root — the cause
  8. branch — a division
  9. plane — in geometry
  10. field — farmland
  11. field — a subject
  12. plane — an aircraft
  13. perch — for a bird
  14. root — of a plant
  15. chest — of your body
  16. perch — the fish
  17. cabinet — ministers
  18. cabinet — ministers
  19. chest — a box
  20. stem — a stem cell
  21. cabinet — a cupboard
  22. root — of a word
  23. branch — of a bank
  24. field — for sport

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