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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: chest · land · branch · rock · straw · plane · kick · stem

  1. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  2. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  3. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  4. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  5. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  6. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  7. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  8. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  9. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  10. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  11. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  12. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  13. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  14. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  15. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  16. When are we going to ________________?
  17. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  18. The ________________ took off on time.
  19. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  20. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  21. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  22. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  23. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  24. Biology is a ________________ of science.

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

Answer key

  1. branch — of a bank
  2. stem — of a plant
  3. plane — a tool
  4. branch — of a tree
  5. rock — a stone
  6. kick — with a leg
  7. straw — a straw man
  8. kick — a thrill
  9. chest — of your body
  10. rock — music
  11. land — ground
  12. kick — in football
  13. chest — of your body
  14. straw — dry grass
  15. straw — to clutch at straws
  16. land — to come down
  17. chest — a box
  18. plane — an aircraft
  19. rock — to move gently
  20. stem — to come from
  21. stem — a stem cell
  22. land — a country
  23. plane — in geometry
  24. branch — a division

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