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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. What do you think of the new ________________?
  2. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  3. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  4. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  5. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  6. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  7. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  8. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  9. Did you ________________ the meat?
  10. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  11. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  12. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  13. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  14. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  15. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  16. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  17. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  18. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  19. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  20. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  21. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  22. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  23. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  24. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.

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

Answer key

  1. cabinet — ministers
  2. mine — belonging to me
  3. cabinet — a cupboard
  4. season — in sport
  5. cabinet — ministers
  6. dip — a sauce
  7. stem — a stem cell
  8. band — a ring
  9. season — to add flavour
  10. mine — an explosive
  11. prune — to trim
  12. branch — of a tree
  13. band — a music group
  14. branch — of a bank
  15. prune — the fruit
  16. band — a rubber band
  17. stem — to come from
  18. stem — of a plant
  19. dip — to dunk
  20. mine — for digging
  21. prune — to trim
  22. season — of the year
  23. branch — a division
  24. dip — to sink

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