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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 kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  2. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  3. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  4. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  5. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  6. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  7. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  8. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  9. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  10. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  11. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  12. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  13. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  14. Have you met the new head ________________?
  15. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  16. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  17. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  18. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  19. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  20. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  21. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  22. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  23. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  24. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. scale — for weighing
  2. stem — to come from
  3. scale — size or range
  4. fall — to drop
  5. branch — of a bank
  6. coach — a trainer
  7. band — a rubber band
  8. capital — a big letter
  9. prune — to trim
  10. scale — in music
  11. capital — money
  12. branch — a division
  13. capital — a city
  14. coach — a trainer
  15. fall — the season
  16. prune — to trim
  17. band — a music group
  18. stem — of a plant
  19. prune — the fruit
  20. branch — of a tree
  21. coach — pulled by horses
  22. stem — a stem cell
  23. fall — to drop
  24. band — a ring

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