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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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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: mate · branch · wake · race · stem · land · row · cell

  1. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  2. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  3. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  4. When are we going to ________________?
  5. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  6. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  7. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  8. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  9. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  10. He was locked up in a ________________.
  11. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  12. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  13. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  14. Have you found your soul ________________?
  15. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  16. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  17. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  18. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  19. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  20. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  21. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  22. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  23. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  24. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!

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

Answer key

  1. wake — before a funeral
  2. stem — of a plant
  3. wake — to stop sleeping
  4. land — to come down
  5. cell — in biology
  6. stem — to come from
  7. land — a country
  8. row — to paddle
  9. wake — a trail
  10. cell — in a prison
  11. row — a quarrel
  12. race — humankind
  13. stem — a stem cell
  14. mate — a partner
  15. mate — to breed
  16. mate — a friend
  17. branch — a division
  18. race — the arms race
  19. race — a contest
  20. branch — of a tree
  21. land — ground
  22. branch — of a bank
  23. row — a line
  24. cell — a phone

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