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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. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  2. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  3. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  4. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  5. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  6. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  7. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  8. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  9. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  10. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  11. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  12. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  13. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  14. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  15. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  16. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  17. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  18. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  19. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  20. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  21. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  22. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  23. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  24. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.

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

Answer key

  1. stem — of a plant
  2. branch — a division
  3. club — a group
  4. branch — of a tree
  5. bat — for baseball
  6. bass — the instrument
  7. leaves — of a tree
  8. stem — to come from
  9. clip — a video
  10. lash — to lash out
  11. branch — of a bank
  12. clip — to cut
  13. bass — the fish
  14. bat — the animal
  15. leaves — to go away
  16. bat — in an idiom
  17. club — for golf
  18. leaves — lets stay
  19. stem — a stem cell
  20. clip — for paper
  21. lash — a whip stroke
  22. bass — low music
  23. lash — an eyelash
  24. club — for dancing

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