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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: chair · branch · stem · scale · lean · pound · track · rest

  1. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  2. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  3. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  4. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  5. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  6. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  7. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  8. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  9. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  10. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  11. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  12. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  13. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  14. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  15. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  16. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  17. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  18. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  19. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  20. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  21. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  22. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  23. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  24. 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. lean — to bend
  2. scale — size or range
  3. track — to keep track
  4. rest — a break
  5. branch — of a bank
  6. lean — thin
  7. rest — what's left
  8. stem — to come from
  9. branch — of a tree
  10. pound — to hit hard
  11. chair — to sit on
  12. track — a path
  13. rest — what's left
  14. pound — for dogs
  15. lean — to rest against
  16. pound — a weight
  17. scale — in music
  18. stem — of a plant
  19. scale — for weighing
  20. branch — a division
  21. chair — a professorship
  22. chair — a leader
  23. track — a song
  24. 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