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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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Word bank
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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: branch · tear · file · stem · chair · present

  1. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  2. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  3. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  4. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  5. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  6. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  7. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  8. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  9. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  10. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  11. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  12. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  13. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  14. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  15. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  16. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  17. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  18. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.

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

Answer key

  1. present — there
  2. tear — from crying
  3. chair — a professorship
  4. branch — a division
  5. present — the time now
  6. present — a gift
  7. stem — to come from
  8. tear — to rip
  9. file — a line of people
  10. branch — of a tree
  11. file — a tool
  12. file — a document
  13. chair — to sit on
  14. tear — from crying
  15. stem — of a plant
  16. chair — a leader
  17. branch — of a bank
  18. stem — a stem cell

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