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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.

Words on the sheet
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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: ground · chip · stem · object · branch · field · cold · court

  1. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  2. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  3. The water is too ________________.
  4. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  5. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  6. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  7. There's no middle ________________.
  8. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  9. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  10. The ball is in your ________________.
  11. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  12. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  13. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  14. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  15. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  16. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  17. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  18. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  19. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  20. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  21. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  22. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  23. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  24. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.

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

Answer key

  1. branch — of a tree
  2. field — for sport
  3. cold — not warm
  4. object — to protest
  5. field — farmland
  6. ground — the earth
  7. ground — a position
  8. branch — of a bank
  9. ground — crushed
  10. court — for sport
  11. object — an aim
  12. chip — for betting
  13. court — of a king
  14. object — a thing
  15. stem — of a plant
  16. field — a subject
  17. chip — to eat
  18. branch — a division
  19. court — of law
  20. cold — an illness
  21. stem — to come from
  22. chip — in a computer
  23. stem — a stem cell
  24. cold — the Cold War

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