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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: clip · stem · spring · patient · chip · club · branch · season

  1. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  2. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  3. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  4. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  5. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  6. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  7. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  8. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  9. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  10. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  11. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  12. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  13. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  14. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  15. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  16. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  17. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  18. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  19. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  20. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  21. Did you ________________ the meat?
  22. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  23. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  24. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.

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

Answer key

  1. club — for dancing
  2. patient — a sick person
  3. chip — to eat
  4. stem — a stem cell
  5. chip — for betting
  6. chip — in a computer
  7. clip — for paper
  8. spring — the season
  9. patient — a sick person
  10. patient — calm and waiting
  11. season — of the year
  12. clip — to cut
  13. branch — of a tree
  14. branch — a division
  15. club — for golf
  16. spring — of water
  17. spring — a coil
  18. stem — of a plant
  19. season — in sport
  20. club — a group
  21. season — to add flavour
  22. clip — a video
  23. stem — to come from
  24. branch — of a bank

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