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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. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  2. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  3. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  4. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  5. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  6. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  7. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  8. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  9. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  10. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  11. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  12. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  13. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  14. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  15. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  16. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  17. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  18. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  19. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  20. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  21. The tickets are free of ________________.
  22. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  23. The King held a masked ________________.
  24. False peace will not ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. branch — a division
  2. last — finally
  3. field — a subject
  4. stem — a stem cell
  5. branch — of a tree
  6. ball — a round shape
  7. branch — of a bank
  8. charge — electricity
  9. clip — for paper
  10. stem — to come from
  11. field — farmland
  12. last — final
  13. cap — of ice
  14. cap — a hat
  15. cap — a lid
  16. clip — to cut
  17. field — for sport
  18. ball — a great time
  19. stem — of a plant
  20. clip — a video
  21. charge — a price
  22. charge — in control
  23. ball — a dance
  24. last — to go on

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