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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: stem · branch · wave · mine · cold · game · plane · kick

  1. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  2. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  3. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  4. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  5. The water is too ________________.
  6. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  7. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  8. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  9. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  10. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  11. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  12. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  13. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  14. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  15. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  16. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  17. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  18. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  19. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  20. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  21. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  22. The ________________ took off on time.
  23. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  24. That was a fun ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — belonging to me
  2. stem — of a plant
  3. kick — a thrill
  4. mine — an explosive
  5. cold — not warm
  6. branch — of a bank
  7. cold — the Cold War
  8. plane — a tool
  9. stem — to come from
  10. mine — for digging
  11. kick — in football
  12. game — a kind of play
  13. wave — with your hand
  14. plane — in geometry
  15. branch — a division
  16. branch — of a tree
  17. game — wild animals
  18. wave — of the sea
  19. kick — with a leg
  20. wave — a sudden rise
  21. cold — an illness
  22. plane — an aircraft
  23. stem — a stem cell
  24. game — a match

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