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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: clip · cap · branch · lie · mark · stem · straw · chest

  1. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  2. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  3. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  4. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  5. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  6. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  7. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  8. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  9. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  10. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  11. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  12. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  13. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  14. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  15. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  16. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  17. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  18. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  19. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  20. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  21. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  22. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  23. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  24. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.

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

Answer key

  1. branch — a division
  2. lie — an untruth
  3. mark — a trace
  4. cap — a lid
  5. straw — dry grass
  6. stem — of a plant
  7. chest — of your body
  8. straw — to clutch at straws
  9. cap — a hat
  10. clip — a video
  11. cap — of ice
  12. branch — of a tree
  13. lie — an untruth
  14. stem — to come from
  15. mark — to pay attention
  16. straw — a straw man
  17. clip — for paper
  18. branch — of a bank
  19. chest — of your body
  20. lie — to recline
  21. stem — a stem cell
  22. mark — a grade
  23. chest — a box
  24. clip — to cut

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