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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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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: rush · wind · firm · sharp · lie · stem · bat · branch

  1. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  2. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  3. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  4. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  5. It's one o'clock ________________.
  6. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  7. That must've been a ________________.
  8. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  9. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  10. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  11. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  12. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  13. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  14. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  15. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  16. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  17. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  18. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  19. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  20. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  21. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  22. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  23. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  24. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rush — to hurry
  2. wind — moving air
  3. sharp — with an edge
  4. rush — hurry
  5. sharp — exactly
  6. lie — to recline
  7. rush — a thrill
  8. bat — for baseball
  9. wind — to turn a key
  10. bat — in an idiom
  11. bat — the animal
  12. stem — a stem cell
  13. branch — a division
  14. stem — of a plant
  15. wind — moving air
  16. stem — to come from
  17. lie — an untruth
  18. branch — of a bank
  19. lie — an untruth
  20. firm — steady
  21. firm — decided
  22. sharp — clever
  23. branch — of a tree
  24. firm — a company

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