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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.

Words on the sheet
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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 · branch · roll · ground · racket · fork · pitcher · cold

  1. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  2. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  3. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  4. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  5. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  6. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  7. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  8. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  9. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  10. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  11. The water is too ________________.
  12. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  13. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  14. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  15. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  16. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  17. There's no middle ________________.
  18. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  19. We're on a ________________ here.
  20. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  21. He is an ace ________________.
  22. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  23. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  24. Biology is a ________________ of science.

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

Answer key

  1. racket — for tennis
  2. branch — of a bank
  3. pitcher — a jug
  4. cold — the Cold War
  5. stem — a stem cell
  6. pitcher — a jug
  7. racket — a loud noise
  8. fork — to eat with
  9. fork — in a road
  10. fork — a garden tool
  11. cold — not warm
  12. branch — of a tree
  13. ground — the earth
  14. stem — to come from
  15. ground — crushed
  16. racket — for tennis
  17. ground — a position
  18. roll — a cake
  19. roll — on a roll
  20. stem — of a plant
  21. pitcher — in baseball
  22. roll — a list
  23. cold — an illness
  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