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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.

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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: stem · wake · fall · cap · straw · spell · branch · stick

  1. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  2. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  3. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  4. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  5. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  6. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  7. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  8. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  9. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  10. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  11. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  12. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  13. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  14. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  15. How do you ________________ your surname?
  16. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  17. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  18. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  19. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  20. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  21. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  22. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  23. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  24. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.

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

Answer key

  1. spell — a short time
  2. branch — of a tree
  3. wake — before a funeral
  4. cap — of ice
  5. wake — to stop sleeping
  6. stem — to come from
  7. spell — magic
  8. fall — to drop
  9. stick — a piece of wood
  10. stick — a piece of wood
  11. stem — of a plant
  12. branch — a division
  13. straw — to clutch at straws
  14. wake — a trail
  15. spell — letters
  16. branch — of a bank
  17. stick — to attach or keep to
  18. cap — a lid
  19. straw — dry grass
  20. straw — a straw man
  21. fall — to drop
  22. fall — the season
  23. cap — a hat
  24. stem — a stem cell

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