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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: branch · dip · land · stem · wake · kid · ground · club

  1. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  2. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  3. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  4. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  5. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  6. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  7. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  8. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  9. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  10. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  11. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  12. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  13. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  14. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  15. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  16. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  17. When are we going to ________________?
  18. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  19. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  20. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  21. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  22. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  23. There's no middle ________________.
  24. Add some ________________ pepper to it.

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

Answer key

  1. club — a group
  2. kid — child
  3. club — for golf
  4. stem — to come from
  5. land — a country
  6. branch — of a bank
  7. land — ground
  8. branch — a division
  9. dip — to sink
  10. wake — before a funeral
  11. wake — to stop sleeping
  12. dip — to dunk
  13. ground — the earth
  14. kid — to tease
  15. club — for dancing
  16. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  17. land — to come down
  18. branch — of a tree
  19. stem — a stem cell
  20. stem — of a plant
  21. dip — a sauce
  22. wake — a trail
  23. ground — a position
  24. ground — crushed

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