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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: mate · race · last · cold · roll · stem · branch · bay

  1. False peace will not ________________.
  2. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  3. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  4. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  5. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  6. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  7. Have you found your soul ________________?
  8. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  9. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  10. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  11. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  12. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  13. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  14. My mare is ________________ in color.
  15. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  16. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  17. We're on a ________________ here.
  18. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  19. The water is too ________________.
  20. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  21. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  22. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  23. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  24. Biology is a ________________ of science.

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

Answer key

  1. last — to go on
  2. roll — a cake
  3. branch — of a tree
  4. last — finally
  5. roll — a list
  6. mate — to breed
  7. mate — a partner
  8. bay — a part of the sea
  9. cold — an illness
  10. branch — of a bank
  11. last — final
  12. race — the arms race
  13. race — a contest
  14. bay — a horse colour
  15. mate — a friend
  16. cold — the Cold War
  17. roll — on a roll
  18. stem — to come from
  19. cold — not warm
  20. stem — a stem cell
  21. race — humankind
  22. bay — to keep at bay
  23. stem — of a plant
  24. branch — a division

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