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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. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  2. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  3. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  4. I'll be taking the ________________.
  5. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  6. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  7. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  8. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  9. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  10. He is an ace ________________.
  11. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  12. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  13. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  14. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  15. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  16. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  17. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  18. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  19. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  20. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  21. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  22. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  23. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  24. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.

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

Answer key

  1. branch — of a bank
  2. tear — from crying
  3. bowl — to roll
  4. tube — the underground
  5. stem — a stem cell
  6. file — a document
  7. tear — to rip
  8. stem — to come from
  9. branch — a division
  10. pitcher — in baseball
  11. cue — a signal
  12. tube — in a tire
  13. file — a tool
  14. cue — a hint
  15. file — a line of people
  16. pitcher — a jug
  17. pitcher — a jug
  18. cue — for pool
  19. tear — from crying
  20. bowl — a football final
  21. stem — of a plant
  22. tube — a container
  23. bowl — a dish
  24. branch — of a tree

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