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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 120 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. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  2. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  3. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  4. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  5. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  6. It's one o'clock ________________.
  7. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  8. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  9. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  10. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  11. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  12. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  13. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  14. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  15. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  16. This piece is in a major ________________.
  17. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  18. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  19. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  20. The ________________ took off on time.
  21. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  22. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  23. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  24. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.

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

Answer key

  1. chest — of your body
  2. branch — of a tree
  3. key — for a lock
  4. present — the time now
  5. stem — of a plant
  6. sharp — exactly
  7. stem — to come from
  8. chest — a box
  9. plane — a tool
  10. row — a line
  11. sharp — clever
  12. branch — a division
  13. branch — of a bank
  14. chest — of your body
  15. key — the most important part
  16. key — in music
  17. stem — a stem cell
  18. present — there
  19. plane — in geometry
  20. plane — an aircraft
  21. row — a quarrel
  22. present — a gift
  23. sharp — with an edge
  24. row — to paddle

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