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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 120 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: tear · season · cell · deal · branch · stem · bowl · chair

  1. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  2. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  3. He was locked up in a ________________.
  4. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  5. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  6. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  7. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  8. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  9. Did you ________________ the meat?
  10. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  11. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  12. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  13. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  14. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  15. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  16. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  17. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  18. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  19. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  20. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  21. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  22. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  23. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  24. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.

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

Answer key

  1. stem — to come from
  2. branch — of a bank
  3. cell — in a prison
  4. chair — a leader
  5. deal — a big deal
  6. bowl — to roll
  7. chair — to sit on
  8. chair — a professorship
  9. season — to add flavour
  10. stem — of a plant
  11. cell — a phone
  12. tear — from crying
  13. deal — an agreement
  14. season — in sport
  15. branch — a division
  16. deal — to handle
  17. tear — to rip
  18. stem — a stem cell
  19. branch — of a tree
  20. season — of the year
  21. tear — from crying
  22. bowl — a dish
  23. bowl — a football final
  24. cell — in biology

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