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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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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: band · cell · mate · kid · rash · calf · branch · stem

  1. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  2. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  3. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  4. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  5. He was locked up in a ________________.
  6. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  7. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  8. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  9. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  10. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  11. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  12. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  13. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  14. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  15. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  16. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  17. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  18. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  19. Don't do anything ________________.
  20. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  21. Have you found your soul ________________?
  22. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  23. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  24. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a music group
  2. rash — a series
  3. calf — a young animal
  4. cell — in biology
  5. cell — in a prison
  6. stem — a stem cell
  7. calf — of the leg
  8. mate — a friend
  9. cell — a phone
  10. branch — a division
  11. branch — of a tree
  12. mate — to breed
  13. stem — to come from
  14. rash — on the skin
  15. stem — of a plant
  16. band — a ring
  17. calf — a young animal
  18. kid — child
  19. rash — hasty
  20. kid — to tease
  21. mate — a partner
  22. band — a rubber band
  23. branch — of a bank
  24. kid — young goat (kid gloves)

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