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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: fine · wound · vault · cap · leaves · branch · cold · snap

  1. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  2. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  3. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  4. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  5. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  6. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  7. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  8. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  9. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  10. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  11. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  12. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  13. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  14. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  15. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  16. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  17. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  18. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  19. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  20. The water is too ________________.
  21. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  22. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  23. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  24. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.

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

Answer key

  1. wound — an injury
  2. wound — an injury
  3. branch — a division
  4. leaves — to go away
  5. leaves — of a tree
  6. snap — to snap out of it
  7. fine — a penalty
  8. vault — an arched ceiling
  9. leaves — lets stay
  10. vault — a safe
  11. cap — a lid
  12. vault — in gymnastics
  13. snap — to speak sharply
  14. fine — all right
  15. cap — of ice
  16. cap — a hat
  17. fine — high quality
  18. branch — of a tree
  19. branch — of a bank
  20. cold — not warm
  21. wound — past of 'wind'
  22. cold — the Cold War
  23. snap — to click
  24. cold — an illness

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