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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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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: wind · stem · pass · cold · board · ball · row · branch

  1. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  2. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  3. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  4. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  5. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  6. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  7. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  8. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  9. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  10. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  11. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  12. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  13. The water is too ________________.
  14. The King held a masked ________________.
  15. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  16. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  17. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  18. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  19. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  20. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  21. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  22. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  23. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  24. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.

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

Answer key

  1. row — to paddle
  2. board — a committee
  3. stem — to come from
  4. board — a flat piece
  5. ball — a round shape
  6. branch — of a tree
  7. board — to get on
  8. wind — moving air
  9. pass — to spend time
  10. cold — an illness
  11. cold — the Cold War
  12. row — a line
  13. cold — not warm
  14. ball — a dance
  15. pass — to succeed
  16. stem — of a plant
  17. stem — a stem cell
  18. pass — a permit
  19. branch — a division
  20. wind — to turn a key
  21. row — a quarrel
  22. ball — a great time
  23. wind — moving air
  24. branch — of a bank

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