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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 116 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 pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  2. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  3. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  4. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  5. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  6. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  7. That was a fun ________________.
  8. Did you ________________ the meat?
  9. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  10. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  11. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  12. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  13. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  14. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  15. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  16. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  17. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  18. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  19. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  20. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  21. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  22. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  23. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  24. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.

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

Answer key

  1. game — wild animals
  2. branch — of a tree
  3. shower — rain
  4. shower — to wash
  5. rest — a break
  6. game — a kind of play
  7. game — a match
  8. season — to add flavour
  9. branch — of a bank
  10. racket — for tennis
  11. net — for catching
  12. racket — a loud noise
  13. shower — a meteor shower
  14. racket — for tennis
  15. rest — what's left
  16. net — in sport
  17. season — of the year
  18. stem — to come from
  19. branch — a division
  20. season — in sport
  21. net — after costs
  22. rest — what's left
  23. stem — of a plant
  24. stem — a stem cell

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