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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 120 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: net · object · branch · wake · degree · band · hide · stem

  1. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  2. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  3. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  4. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  5. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  6. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  7. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  8. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  9. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  10. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  11. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  12. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  13. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  14. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  15. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  16. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  17. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  18. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  19. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  20. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  21. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  22. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  23. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  24. Biology is a ________________ of science.

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

Answer key

  1. stem — of a plant
  2. hide — to keep secret
  3. object — to protest
  4. wake — before a funeral
  5. branch — of a bank
  6. band — a rubber band
  7. stem — a stem cell
  8. stem — to come from
  9. degree — temperature
  10. wake — to stop sleeping
  11. band — a ring
  12. net — after costs
  13. degree — an amount
  14. net — for catching
  15. wake — a trail
  16. branch — of a tree
  17. hide — to keep secret
  18. degree — from a university
  19. object — a thing
  20. hide — animal skin
  21. net — in sport
  22. object — an aim
  23. band — a music group
  24. branch — a division

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