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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. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  2. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  3. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  4. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  5. He works in a ________________ mill.
  6. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  7. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  8. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  9. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  10. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  11. She's very handy with a ________________.
  12. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  13. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  14. How do you ________________ your surname?
  15. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  16. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  17. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  18. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  19. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  20. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  21. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  22. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  23. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  24. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.

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

Answer key

  1. branch — a division
  2. cap — a lid
  3. spell — magic
  4. racket — for tennis
  5. saw — the tool
  6. branch — of a bank
  7. stem — to come from
  8. capital — money
  9. branch — of a tree
  10. stem — of a plant
  11. saw — the tool
  12. spell — a short time
  13. racket — a loud noise
  14. spell — letters
  15. bat — in an idiom
  16. saw — past of 'see'
  17. stem — a stem cell
  18. bat — the animal
  19. capital — a city
  20. bat — for baseball
  21. capital — a big letter
  22. racket — for tennis
  23. cap — of ice
  24. cap — a hat

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