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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. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  2. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  3. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  4. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  5. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  6. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  7. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  8. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  9. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  10. That was a fun ________________.
  11. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  12. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  13. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  14. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  15. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  16. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  17. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  18. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  19. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  20. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  21. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  22. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  23. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  24. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.

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

Answer key

  1. stem — of a plant
  2. hand — in cards
  3. snap — to snap out of it
  4. stem — to come from
  5. hand — part of the body
  6. squash — the sport
  7. perch — for a bird
  8. hand — help
  9. branch — a division
  10. game — a match
  11. perch — for a bird
  12. capital — money
  13. squash — to crush
  14. snap — to speak sharply
  15. branch — of a tree
  16. squash — the vegetable
  17. capital — a city
  18. game — wild animals
  19. capital — a big letter
  20. game — a kind of play
  21. perch — the fish
  22. branch — of a bank
  23. snap — to click
  24. stem — a stem cell

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