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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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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: staff · rock · mate · cold · branch · fall

  1. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  2. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  3. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  4. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  5. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  6. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  7. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  8. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  9. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  10. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  11. The water is too ________________.
  12. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  13. Have you found your soul ________________?
  14. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  15. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  16. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  17. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  18. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.

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

Answer key

  1. mate — to breed
  2. rock — to move gently
  3. branch — of a bank
  4. staff — a stick
  5. fall — to drop
  6. mate — a friend
  7. rock — music
  8. cold — the Cold War
  9. branch — of a tree
  10. staff — employees
  11. cold — not warm
  12. branch — a division
  13. mate — a partner
  14. rock — a stone
  15. fall — to drop
  16. cold — an illness
  17. fall — the season
  18. staff — employees

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