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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 120 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: cold · rule · tube · foot · branch · key · bank · row

  1. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  2. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  3. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  4. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  5. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  6. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  7. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  8. I'll be taking the ________________.
  9. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  10. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  11. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  12. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  13. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  14. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  15. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  16. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  17. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  18. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  19. This piece is in a major ________________.
  20. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  21. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  22. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  23. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  24. The water is too ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. key — for a lock
  2. cold — the Cold War
  3. tube — in a tire
  4. key — the most important part
  5. cold — an illness
  6. foot — a measure
  7. bank — for money
  8. tube — the underground
  9. foot — part of the body
  10. branch — a division
  11. rule — government
  12. branch — of a tree
  13. row — to paddle
  14. row — a quarrel
  15. rule — a law
  16. bank — for money
  17. rule — to rule out
  18. row — a line
  19. key — in music
  20. branch — of a bank
  21. bank — of a river
  22. foot — the bottom
  23. tube — a container
  24. cold — not warm

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