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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 116 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: cabinet · stem · branch · last · straw · dip · game · spell

  1. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  2. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  3. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  4. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  5. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  6. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  7. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  8. How do you ________________ your surname?
  9. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  10. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  11. False peace will not ________________.
  12. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  13. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  14. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  15. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  16. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  17. That was a fun ________________.
  18. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  19. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  20. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  21. What do you think of the new ________________?
  22. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  23. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  24. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. game — a kind of play
  2. last — finally
  3. dip — to dunk
  4. branch — of a tree
  5. spell — magic
  6. dip — to sink
  7. straw — to clutch at straws
  8. spell — letters
  9. stem — to come from
  10. branch — a division
  11. last — to go on
  12. straw — a straw man
  13. branch — of a bank
  14. straw — dry grass
  15. stem — of a plant
  16. cabinet — ministers
  17. game — a match
  18. stem — a stem cell
  19. last — final
  20. dip — a sauce
  21. cabinet — ministers
  22. spell — a short time
  23. game — wild animals
  24. cabinet — a cupboard

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