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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. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  2. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  3. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  4. This piece is in a major ________________.
  5. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  6. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  7. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  8. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  9. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  10. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  11. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  12. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  13. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  14. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  15. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  16. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  17. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  18. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  19. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  20. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  21. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  22. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  23. There's no middle ________________.
  24. Many English words ________________ from Latin.

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

Answer key

  1. branch — of a tree
  2. row — to paddle
  3. ground — crushed
  4. key — in music
  5. stem — of a plant
  6. branch — a division
  7. key — the most important part
  8. spring — the season
  9. branch — of a bank
  10. shower — to wash
  11. row — a line
  12. row — a quarrel
  13. content — happy
  14. spring — of water
  15. stem — a stem cell
  16. content — the amount
  17. content — videos and posts
  18. ground — the earth
  19. shower — rain
  20. shower — a meteor shower
  21. key — for a lock
  22. spring — a coil
  23. ground — a position
  24. stem — to come from

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