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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 116 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: branch · bat · chair · fan · stem · plane · cue · spring

  1. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  2. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  3. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  4. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  5. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  6. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  7. The ________________ took off on time.
  8. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  9. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  10. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  11. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  12. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  13. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  14. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  15. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  16. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  17. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  18. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  19. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  20. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  21. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  22. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  23. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  24. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — to sit on
  2. cue — a hint
  3. chair — a professorship
  4. fan — a supporter
  5. bat — for baseball
  6. fan — to cool the air
  7. plane — an aircraft
  8. stem — a stem cell
  9. spring — the season
  10. stem — to come from
  11. chair — a leader
  12. bat — the animal
  13. plane — a tool
  14. stem — of a plant
  15. fan — a supporter
  16. spring — a coil
  17. branch — of a bank
  18. branch — a division
  19. spring — of water
  20. branch — of a tree
  21. cue — a signal
  22. bat — in an idiom
  23. plane — in geometry
  24. cue — for pool

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