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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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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: stem · clip · branch · ground · spell · last · fan · content

  1. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  2. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  3. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  4. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  5. False peace will not ________________.
  6. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  7. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  8. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  9. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  10. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  11. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  12. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  13. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  14. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  15. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  16. There's no middle ________________.
  17. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  18. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  19. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  20. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  21. How do you ________________ your surname?
  22. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  23. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  24. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?

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

Answer key

  1. clip — to cut
  2. ground — the earth
  3. content — the amount
  4. stem — to come from
  5. last — to go on
  6. spell — magic
  7. clip — for paper
  8. last — finally
  9. fan — to cool the air
  10. last — final
  11. clip — a video
  12. ground — crushed
  13. content — happy
  14. spell — a short time
  15. fan — a supporter
  16. ground — a position
  17. stem — of a plant
  18. branch — a division
  19. content — videos and posts
  20. branch — of a tree
  21. spell — letters
  22. branch — of a bank
  23. stem — a stem cell
  24. fan — a supporter

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