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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: jam · land · kid · bark · stem · capital · branch · pit

  1. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  2. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  3. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  4. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  5. When are we going to ________________?
  6. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  7. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  8. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  9. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  10. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  11. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  12. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  13. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  14. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  15. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  16. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  17. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  18. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  19. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  20. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  21. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  22. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  23. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  24. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.

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

Answer key

  1. branch — of a tree
  2. pit — a fruit stone
  3. branch — a division
  4. land — a country
  5. land — to come down
  6. pit — a hole
  7. stem — a stem cell
  8. bark — to shout
  9. jam — to spread on bread
  10. capital — money
  11. capital — a big letter
  12. land — ground
  13. jam — a tight spot
  14. bark — of a tree
  15. bark — a dog's sound
  16. stem — to come from
  17. capital — a city
  18. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  19. pit — in a race
  20. jam — in traffic
  21. stem — of a plant
  22. kid — child
  23. branch — of a bank
  24. kid — to tease

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