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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: rule · cold · branch · lean · chest · rash · squash · wound

  1. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  2. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  3. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  4. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  5. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  6. Don't do anything ________________.
  7. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  8. The water is too ________________.
  9. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  10. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  11. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  12. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  13. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  14. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  15. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  16. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  17. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  18. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  19. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  20. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  21. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  22. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  23. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  24. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.

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

Answer key

  1. branch — of a tree
  2. cold — the Cold War
  3. lean — to bend
  4. wound — past of 'wind'
  5. rule — to rule out
  6. rash — hasty
  7. lean — to rest against
  8. cold — not warm
  9. branch — a division
  10. squash — to crush
  11. chest — of your body
  12. wound — an injury
  13. branch — of a bank
  14. chest — of your body
  15. squash — the sport
  16. rule — a law
  17. rash — on the skin
  18. chest — a box
  19. rule — government
  20. lean — thin
  21. rash — a series
  22. wound — an injury
  23. cold — an illness
  24. squash — the vegetable

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