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

Word bank: race · bowl · band · stem · cell · branch

  1. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  2. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  3. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  4. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  5. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  6. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  7. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  8. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  9. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  10. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  11. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  12. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  13. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  14. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  15. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  16. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  17. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  18. He was locked up in a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. race — humankind
  2. stem — a stem cell
  3. branch — of a tree
  4. bowl — to roll
  5. cell — in biology
  6. bowl — a football final
  7. stem — to come from
  8. stem — of a plant
  9. race — a contest
  10. bowl — a dish
  11. cell — a phone
  12. branch — of a bank
  13. band — a rubber band
  14. band — a music group
  15. race — the arms race
  16. branch — a division
  17. band — a ring
  18. cell — in a prison

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