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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: mate · content · stem · swing · kick · lie · bat · branch

  1. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  2. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  3. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  4. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  5. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  6. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  7. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  8. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  9. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  10. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  11. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  12. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  13. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  14. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  15. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  16. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  17. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  18. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  19. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  20. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  21. Have you found your soul ________________?
  22. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  23. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  24. David sat on the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — the animal
  2. branch — of a tree
  3. lie — an untruth
  4. kick — in football
  5. bat — for baseball
  6. lie — an untruth
  7. mate — to breed
  8. kick — a thrill
  9. stem — to come from
  10. branch — a division
  11. content — the amount
  12. swing — in golf
  13. mate — a friend
  14. stem — of a plant
  15. content — happy
  16. kick — with a leg
  17. bat — in an idiom
  18. content — videos and posts
  19. swing — music
  20. stem — a stem cell
  21. mate — a partner
  22. lie — to recline
  23. branch — of a bank
  24. swing — to play on

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