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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: bat · club · stem · leaves · dip · branch · chest · pound

  1. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  2. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  3. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  4. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  5. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  6. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  7. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  8. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  9. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  10. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  11. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  12. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  13. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  14. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  15. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  16. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  17. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  18. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  19. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  20. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  21. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  22. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  23. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  24. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.

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

Answer key

  1. chest — of your body
  2. bat — for baseball
  3. branch — a division
  4. stem — a stem cell
  5. leaves — lets stay
  6. bat — the animal
  7. chest — a box
  8. stem — to come from
  9. dip — a sauce
  10. pound — for dogs
  11. bat — in an idiom
  12. stem — of a plant
  13. leaves — to go away
  14. club — for golf
  15. club — a group
  16. dip — to dunk
  17. pound — to hit hard
  18. chest — of your body
  19. club — for dancing
  20. dip — to sink
  21. leaves — of a tree
  22. pound — a weight
  23. branch — of a bank
  24. branch — of a tree

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