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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. How do you ________________ your surname?
  2. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  3. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  4. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  5. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  6. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  7. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  8. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  9. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  10. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  11. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  12. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  13. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  14. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  15. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  16. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  17. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  18. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  19. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  20. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  21. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  22. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  23. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  24. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.

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

Answer key

  1. spell — letters
  2. pitch — a sales talk
  3. branch — a division
  4. file — a line of people
  5. stem — to come from
  6. cap — a lid
  7. cap — a hat
  8. club — a group
  9. stem — a stem cell
  10. stem — of a plant
  11. branch — of a bank
  12. spell — magic
  13. club — for dancing
  14. pitch — completely
  15. file — a document
  16. chip — for betting
  17. club — for golf
  18. file — a tool
  19. pitch — a sports field
  20. chip — in a computer
  21. chip — to eat
  22. branch — of a tree
  23. cap — of ice
  24. spell — a short time

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