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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
468
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: kid · mate · stem · capital · branch · fine · last · trunk

  1. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  2. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  3. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  4. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  5. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  6. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  7. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  8. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  9. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  10. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  11. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  12. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  13. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  14. Have you found your soul ________________?
  15. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  16. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  17. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  18. False peace will not ________________.
  19. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  20. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  21. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  22. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  23. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  24. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — to tease
  2. last — finally
  3. fine — a penalty
  4. stem — a stem cell
  5. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  6. kid — child
  7. trunk — of an elephant
  8. fine — all right
  9. branch — of a bank
  10. branch — of a tree
  11. mate — to breed
  12. last — final
  13. trunk — of a car
  14. mate — a partner
  15. mate — a friend
  16. capital — a city
  17. trunk — of a tree
  18. last — to go on
  19. fine — high quality
  20. stem — of a plant
  21. branch — a division
  22. stem — to come from
  23. capital — money
  24. capital — a big letter

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