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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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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: board · leaves · land · cell · branch · rash · stem · wax

  1. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  2. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  3. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  4. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  5. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  6. When are we going to ________________?
  7. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  8. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  9. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  10. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  11. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  12. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  13. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  14. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  15. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  16. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  17. Don't do anything ________________.
  18. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  19. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  20. He was locked up in a ________________.
  21. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  22. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  23. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  24. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.

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

Answer key

  1. leaves — of a tree
  2. rash — a series
  3. branch — of a bank
  4. leaves — lets stay
  5. wax — in the ear
  6. land — to come down
  7. board — a committee
  8. board — a flat piece
  9. branch — a division
  10. land — a country
  11. leaves — to go away
  12. wax — for sculpting
  13. stem — of a plant
  14. board — to get on
  15. stem — to come from
  16. rash — on the skin
  17. rash — hasty
  18. stem — a stem cell
  19. wax — to grow
  20. cell — in a prison
  21. land — ground
  22. cell — a phone
  23. branch — of a tree
  24. cell — in biology

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