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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. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  3. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  4. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  5. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  6. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  7. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  8. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  9. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  10. What do you think of the new ________________?
  11. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  12. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  13. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  14. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  15. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  16. He was locked up in a ________________.
  17. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  18. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  19. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  20. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  21. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  22. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  23. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  24. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.

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

Answer key

  1. stem — a stem cell
  2. branch — a division
  3. cue — a signal
  4. wind — to turn a key
  5. wind — moving air
  6. stem — to come from
  7. bat — for baseball
  8. wind — moving air
  9. bat — the animal
  10. cabinet — ministers
  11. bat — in an idiom
  12. cue — a hint
  13. cabinet — ministers
  14. cell — a phone
  15. cue — for pool
  16. cell — in a prison
  17. field — for sport
  18. cabinet — a cupboard
  19. branch — of a bank
  20. stem — of a plant
  21. branch — of a tree
  22. field — farmland
  23. cell — in biology
  24. field — a subject

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