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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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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: roll · board · wave · cold · stem · lie · branch · mine

  1. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  2. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  3. The water is too ________________.
  4. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  5. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  6. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  7. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  8. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  9. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  10. We're on a ________________ here.
  11. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  12. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  13. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  14. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  15. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  16. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  17. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  18. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  19. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  20. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  21. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  22. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  23. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  24. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.

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

Answer key

  1. stem — a stem cell
  2. stem — of a plant
  3. cold — not warm
  4. roll — a cake
  5. board — to get on
  6. cold — an illness
  7. stem — to come from
  8. branch — of a bank
  9. mine — an explosive
  10. roll — on a roll
  11. lie — an untruth
  12. wave — of the sea
  13. board — a committee
  14. wave — a sudden rise
  15. branch — of a tree
  16. board — a flat piece
  17. roll — a list
  18. branch — a division
  19. lie — to recline
  20. lie — an untruth
  21. mine — belonging to me
  22. wave — with your hand
  23. mine — for digging
  24. cold — the Cold War

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