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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.

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: chair · bank · stem · perch · patient · branch · pop · degree

  1. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  2. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  3. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  4. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  5. You don't need to ________________ round.
  6. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  7. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  8. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  9. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  10. We're almost out of ________________.
  11. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  12. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  13. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  14. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  15. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  16. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  17. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  18. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  19. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  20. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  21. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  22. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  23. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  24. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.

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

Answer key

  1. stem — to come from
  2. bank — for money
  3. perch — the fish
  4. branch — a division
  5. pop — to visit
  6. chair — a leader
  7. branch — of a bank
  8. stem — of a plant
  9. bank — for money
  10. pop — soda
  11. chair — to sit on
  12. bank — of a river
  13. branch — of a tree
  14. patient — calm and waiting
  15. perch — for a bird
  16. degree — an amount
  17. patient — a sick person
  18. chair — a professorship
  19. stem — a stem cell
  20. perch — for a bird
  21. pop — music
  22. degree — from a university
  23. degree — temperature
  24. patient — a sick person

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