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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: land · stem · club · hide · branch · wound · drill · scale

  1. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  2. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  3. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  4. When are we going to ________________?
  5. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  6. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  7. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  8. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  9. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  10. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  11. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  12. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  13. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  14. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  15. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  16. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  17. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  18. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  19. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  20. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  21. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  22. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  23. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  24. We have nothing to ________________ here.

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

Answer key

  1. wound — past of 'wind'
  2. club — for dancing
  3. club — a group
  4. land — to come down
  5. hide — animal skin
  6. stem — a stem cell
  7. stem — to come from
  8. branch — a division
  9. drill — the tool
  10. club — for golf
  11. scale — for weighing
  12. scale — size or range
  13. drill — army training
  14. drill — a practice
  15. branch — of a bank
  16. wound — an injury
  17. branch — of a tree
  18. land — a country
  19. land — ground
  20. stem — of a plant
  21. wound — an injury
  22. hide — to keep secret
  23. scale — in music
  24. hide — to keep secret

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