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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: roll · branch · arm · rock · content · cold · last · present

  1. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  2. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  3. The water is too ________________.
  4. My father caught me by the ________________.
  5. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  6. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  7. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  8. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  9. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  10. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  11. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  12. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  13. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  14. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  15. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  16. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  17. We're on a ________________ here.
  18. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  19. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  20. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  21. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  22. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  23. False peace will not ________________.
  24. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — the Cold War
  2. content — the amount
  3. cold — not warm
  4. arm — part of the body
  5. arm — a part of something
  6. rock — a stone
  7. arm — part of the body
  8. cold — an illness
  9. branch — of a tree
  10. last — final
  11. last — finally
  12. rock — to move gently
  13. rock — music
  14. content — videos and posts
  15. content — happy
  16. roll — a cake
  17. roll — on a roll
  18. present — there
  19. present — a gift
  20. branch — of a bank
  21. present — the time now
  22. branch — a division
  23. last — to go on
  24. roll — a list

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