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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 keeps ________________ of his days.
  2. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  3. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  4. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  5. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  6. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  7. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  8. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  9. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  10. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  11. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  12. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  13. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  14. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  15. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  16. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  17. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  18. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  19. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  20. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  21. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  22. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  23. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  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. track — to keep track
  2. present — the time now
  3. fine — all right
  4. present — a gift
  5. lean — to bend
  6. fine — a penalty
  7. branch — of a bank
  8. present — there
  9. lean — thin
  10. branch — of a tree
  11. perch — for a bird
  12. perch — for a bird
  13. lean — to rest against
  14. stem — to come from
  15. stem — a stem cell
  16. band — a rubber band
  17. stem — of a plant
  18. branch — a division
  19. band — a music group
  20. fine — high quality
  21. track — a path
  22. track — a song
  23. perch — the fish
  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