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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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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: ground · fan · cold · branch · can · stem · mug · bay

  1. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  2. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  3. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  4. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  5. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  6. There's no middle ________________.
  7. The water is too ________________.
  8. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  9. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  10. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  11. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  12. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  13. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  14. Where did you ________________ them?
  15. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  16. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  17. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  18. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  19. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  20. My mare is ________________ in color.
  21. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  22. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  23. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  24. He refilled his coffee ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. can — to be able to
  2. branch — of a tree
  3. branch — of a bank
  4. cold — an illness
  5. cold — the Cold War
  6. ground — a position
  7. cold — not warm
  8. can — a tin
  9. branch — a division
  10. can — a tin
  11. stem — a stem cell
  12. bay — a part of the sea
  13. ground — crushed
  14. mug — to rob
  15. fan — a supporter
  16. fan — to cool the air
  17. fan — a supporter
  18. bay — to keep at bay
  19. mug — a face
  20. bay — a horse colour
  21. stem — of a plant
  22. stem — to come from
  23. ground — the earth
  24. mug — a cup

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