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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 120 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 from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: stem · wound · branch · vault · wake · last

  1. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  2. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  3. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  4. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  5. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  6. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  7. False peace will not ________________.
  8. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  9. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  10. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  11. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  12. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  13. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  14. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  15. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  16. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  17. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  18. At ________________, we arrived at the village.

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

Answer key

  1. wound — past of 'wind'
  2. stem — to come from
  3. wound — an injury
  4. vault — in gymnastics
  5. branch — of a tree
  6. stem — of a plant
  7. last — to go on
  8. last — final
  9. wake — before a funeral
  10. branch — a division
  11. vault — a safe
  12. wake — to stop sleeping
  13. vault — an arched ceiling
  14. wound — an injury
  15. stem — a stem cell
  16. wake — a trail
  17. branch — of a bank
  18. last — finally

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