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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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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: bound · stem · hide · pass · bat · branch · chair · kid

  1. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  2. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  3. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  4. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  5. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  6. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  7. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  8. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  9. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  10. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  11. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  12. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  13. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  14. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  15. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  16. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  17. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  18. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  19. That was ________________ to happen.
  20. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  21. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  22. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  23. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  24. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.

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

Answer key

  1. branch — of a bank
  2. chair — to sit on
  3. kid — child
  4. stem — to come from
  5. bat — in an idiom
  6. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  7. pass — a permit
  8. hide — to keep secret
  9. branch — a division
  10. pass — to succeed
  11. hide — to keep secret
  12. chair — a leader
  13. chair — a professorship
  14. bound — tied together
  15. bat — the animal
  16. stem — of a plant
  17. kid — to tease
  18. branch — of a tree
  19. bound — certain
  20. bound — obliged
  21. hide — animal skin
  22. stem — a stem cell
  23. bat — for baseball
  24. pass — to spend time

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