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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. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  2. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  3. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  4. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  5. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  6. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  7. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  8. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  9. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  10. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  11. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  12. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  13. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  14. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  15. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  16. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  17. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  18. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  19. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  20. Have you found your soul ________________?
  21. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  22. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  23. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  24. When are we going to ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. hide — to keep secret
  2. mate — to breed
  3. branch — a division
  4. pound — a weight
  5. mate — a friend
  6. stem — a stem cell
  7. pound — to hit hard
  8. wound — an injury
  9. wound — an injury
  10. bat — in an idiom
  11. bat — the animal
  12. branch — of a bank
  13. land — a country
  14. pound — for dogs
  15. wound — past of 'wind'
  16. stem — to come from
  17. bat — for baseball
  18. hide — to keep secret
  19. land — ground
  20. mate — a partner
  21. branch — of a tree
  22. hide — animal skin
  23. stem — of a plant
  24. land — to come down

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