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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: fork · arm · branch · chest · squash · rock · ground · stem

  1. There's no middle ________________.
  2. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  3. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  4. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  5. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  6. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  7. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  8. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  9. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  10. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  11. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  12. My father caught me by the ________________.
  13. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  14. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  15. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  16. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  17. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  18. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  19. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  20. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  21. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  22. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  23. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  24. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.

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

Answer key

  1. ground — a position
  2. branch — a division
  3. ground — crushed
  4. stem — to come from
  5. arm — a part of something
  6. rock — to move gently
  7. stem — a stem cell
  8. fork — in a road
  9. branch — of a tree
  10. rock — music
  11. fork — to eat with
  12. arm — part of the body
  13. arm — part of the body
  14. stem — of a plant
  15. fork — a garden tool
  16. squash — the vegetable
  17. squash — the sport
  18. chest — of your body
  19. chest — a box
  20. branch — of a bank
  21. rock — a stone
  22. chest — of your body
  23. squash — to crush
  24. ground — the earth

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