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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: mine · kick · club · branch · stem · ground · spell · mark

  1. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  2. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  3. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  4. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  5. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  6. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  7. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  8. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  9. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  10. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  11. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  12. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  13. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  14. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  15. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  16. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  17. There's no middle ________________.
  18. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  19. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  20. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  21. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  22. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  23. How do you ________________ your surname?
  24. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.

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

Answer key

  1. kick — a thrill
  2. branch — a division
  3. club — for golf
  4. mine — for digging
  5. mark — to pay attention
  6. stem — to come from
  7. branch — of a tree
  8. kick — with a leg
  9. stem — of a plant
  10. mark — a grade
  11. mine — belonging to me
  12. spell — magic
  13. mine — an explosive
  14. branch — of a bank
  15. kick — in football
  16. stem — a stem cell
  17. ground — a position
  18. ground — crushed
  19. mark — a trace
  20. ground — the earth
  21. club — for dancing
  22. spell — a short time
  23. spell — letters
  24. club — a group

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