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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: cold · calf · capital · current · branch · leaves · stem · fan

  1. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  2. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  3. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  4. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  5. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  6. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  7. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  8. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  9. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  10. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  11. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  12. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  13. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  14. The water is too ________________.
  15. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  16. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  17. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  18. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  19. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  20. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  21. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  22. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  23. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  24. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.

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

Answer key

  1. leaves — of a tree
  2. fan — a supporter
  3. stem — of a plant
  4. cold — an illness
  5. stem — to come from
  6. capital — a city
  7. calf — a young animal
  8. capital — money
  9. current — electric
  10. capital — a big letter
  11. branch — of a bank
  12. calf — a young animal
  13. current — happening now
  14. cold — not warm
  15. leaves — lets stay
  16. branch — a division
  17. current — of water
  18. fan — to cool the air
  19. calf — of the leg
  20. cold — the Cold War
  21. branch — of a tree
  22. fan — a supporter
  23. leaves — to go away
  24. stem — a stem cell

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