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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 big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  2. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  3. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  4. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  5. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  6. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  7. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  8. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  9. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  10. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  11. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  12. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  13. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  14. Did you ________________ the meat?
  15. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  16. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  17. Have you found your soul ________________?
  18. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  19. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  20. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  21. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  22. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  23. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  24. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.

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

Answer key

  1. stem — of a plant
  2. stem — to come from
  3. mate — a friend
  4. scale — for weighing
  5. mine — an explosive
  6. scale — in music
  7. season — in sport
  8. straw — to clutch at straws
  9. branch — of a bank
  10. straw — dry grass
  11. mine — for digging
  12. scale — size or range
  13. kick — a thrill
  14. season — to add flavour
  15. season — of the year
  16. straw — a straw man
  17. mate — a partner
  18. kick — with a leg
  19. kick — in football
  20. mine — belonging to me
  21. branch — of a tree
  22. stem — a stem cell
  23. branch — a division
  24. mate — to breed

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