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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: stem · track · roll · march · leaves · branch · kid · hand

  1. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  2. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  3. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  4. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  5. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  6. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  7. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  8. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  9. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  10. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  11. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  12. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  13. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  14. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  15. We're on a ________________ here.
  16. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  17. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  18. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  19. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  20. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  21. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  22. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  23. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  24. The ________________ change colour in autumn.

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

Answer key

  1. leaves — to go away
  2. kid — child
  3. branch — of a tree
  4. march — the month
  5. kid — to tease
  6. track — to keep track
  7. leaves — lets stay
  8. hand — help
  9. roll — a cake
  10. branch — of a bank
  11. track — a path
  12. march — the month
  13. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  14. hand — in cards
  15. roll — on a roll
  16. roll — a list
  17. track — a song
  18. hand — part of the body
  19. march — music
  20. stem — of a plant
  21. stem — a stem cell
  22. stem — to come from
  23. branch — a division
  24. leaves — of a tree

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