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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: date · stem · club · mug · content · shower · branch · face

  1. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  2. Have you settled on a ________________?
  3. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  4. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  5. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  6. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  7. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  8. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  9. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  10. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  11. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  12. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  13. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  14. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  15. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  16. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  17. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  18. Where did you ________________ them?
  19. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  20. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  21. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  22. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  23. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  24. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. stem — a stem cell
  2. date — on the calendar
  3. face — to confront
  4. date — the fruit
  5. branch — a division
  6. club — for dancing
  7. club — for golf
  8. face — to point toward
  9. shower — rain
  10. content — videos and posts
  11. stem — of a plant
  12. stem — to come from
  13. mug — a face
  14. club — a group
  15. content — happy
  16. shower — to wash
  17. face — part of the head
  18. mug — to rob
  19. mug — a cup
  20. content — the amount
  21. branch — of a bank
  22. date — on the calendar
  23. branch — of a tree
  24. shower — a meteor shower

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