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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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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: mine · pass · rule · branch · clip · stem

  1. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  2. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  3. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  4. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  5. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  6. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  7. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  8. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  9. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  10. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  11. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  12. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  13. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  14. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  15. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  16. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  17. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  18. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?

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

Answer key

  1. stem — of a plant
  2. pass — to succeed
  3. mine — belonging to me
  4. mine — an explosive
  5. stem — to come from
  6. pass — a permit
  7. mine — for digging
  8. branch — of a bank
  9. clip — for paper
  10. rule — to rule out
  11. rule — a law
  12. branch — of a tree
  13. clip — to cut
  14. branch — a division
  15. pass — to spend time
  16. stem — a stem cell
  17. clip — a video
  18. rule — government

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