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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: branch · saw · stem · spell · press · mine · capital · kid

  1. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  2. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  3. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  4. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  5. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  6. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  7. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  8. He works in a ________________ mill.
  9. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  10. She's very handy with a ________________.
  11. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  12. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  13. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  14. How do you ________________ your surname?
  15. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  16. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  17. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  18. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  19. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  20. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  21. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  22. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  23. Did you ________________ the button?
  24. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.

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

Answer key

  1. stem — of a plant
  2. capital — a city
  3. mine — for digging
  4. saw — past of 'see'
  5. capital — a big letter
  6. spell — magic
  7. mine — an explosive
  8. saw — the tool
  9. stem — to come from
  10. saw — the tool
  11. capital — money
  12. spell — a short time
  13. stem — a stem cell
  14. spell — letters
  15. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  16. branch — of a tree
  17. kid — child
  18. branch — a division
  19. press — newspapers
  20. mine — belonging to me
  21. kid — to tease
  22. branch — of a bank
  23. press — to push
  24. press — a publisher

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