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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: branch · stem · chip · band · content · wind · fine · last

  1. False peace will not ________________.
  2. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  3. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  4. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  5. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  6. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  7. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  8. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  9. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  10. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  11. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  12. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  13. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  14. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  15. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  16. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  17. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  18. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  19. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  20. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  21. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  22. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  23. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  24. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.

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

Answer key

  1. last — to go on
  2. stem — to come from
  3. branch — of a tree
  4. chip — to eat
  5. branch — a division
  6. wind — to turn a key
  7. wind — moving air
  8. fine — all right
  9. wind — moving air
  10. last — finally
  11. chip — for betting
  12. last — final
  13. content — happy
  14. content — videos and posts
  15. fine — high quality
  16. stem — a stem cell
  17. band — a ring
  18. stem — of a plant
  19. band — a music group
  20. chip — in a computer
  21. fine — a penalty
  22. content — the amount
  23. branch — of a bank
  24. band — a rubber band

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