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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. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  2. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  3. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  4. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  5. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  6. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  7. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  8. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  9. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  10. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  11. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  12. Don't do anything ________________.
  13. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  14. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  15. Did you ________________ the meat?
  16. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  17. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  18. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  19. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  20. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  21. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  22. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  23. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  24. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.

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

Answer key

  1. stem — a stem cell
  2. season — of the year
  3. branch — a division
  4. straw — a straw man
  5. stem — to come from
  6. straw — dry grass
  7. branch — of a bank
  8. trunk — of a tree
  9. stem — of a plant
  10. trunk — of a car
  11. ruler — for measuring
  12. rash — hasty
  13. rash — on the skin
  14. ruler — for measuring
  15. season — to add flavour
  16. trunk — of an elephant
  17. straw — to clutch at straws
  18. branch — of a tree
  19. race — humankind
  20. season — in sport
  21. race — a contest
  22. ruler — a monarch
  23. race — the arms race
  24. rash — a series

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