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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 120 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: mate · saw · bat · ground · stem · patient · branch · key

  1. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  2. There's no middle ________________.
  3. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  4. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  5. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  6. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  7. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  8. She's very handy with a ________________.
  9. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  10. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  11. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  12. Have you found your soul ________________?
  13. He works in a ________________ mill.
  14. This piece is in a major ________________.
  15. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  16. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  17. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  18. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  19. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  20. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  21. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  22. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  23. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  24. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.

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

Answer key

  1. patient — calm and waiting
  2. ground — a position
  3. mate — to breed
  4. stem — to come from
  5. ground — crushed
  6. branch — of a bank
  7. stem — of a plant
  8. saw — the tool
  9. branch — a division
  10. ground — the earth
  11. key — the most important part
  12. mate — a partner
  13. saw — the tool
  14. key — in music
  15. bat — the animal
  16. saw — past of 'see'
  17. patient — a sick person
  18. patient — a sick person
  19. stem — a stem cell
  20. branch — of a tree
  21. mate — a friend
  22. key — for a lock
  23. bat — for baseball
  24. bat — in an idiom

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