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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: race · lie · branch · cold · date · roll · club · leaves

  1. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  2. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  3. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  4. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  5. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  6. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  7. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  8. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  9. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  10. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  11. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  12. Have you settled on a ________________?
  13. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  14. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  15. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  16. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  17. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  18. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  19. The water is too ________________.
  20. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  21. We're on a ________________ here.
  22. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  23. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  24. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. date — the fruit
  2. cold — the Cold War
  3. lie — an untruth
  4. race — humankind
  5. leaves — lets stay
  6. race — the arms race
  7. roll — a cake
  8. club — a group
  9. race — a contest
  10. lie — an untruth
  11. roll — a list
  12. date — on the calendar
  13. leaves — of a tree
  14. lie — to recline
  15. branch — a division
  16. branch — of a tree
  17. leaves — to go away
  18. club — for dancing
  19. cold — not warm
  20. date — on the calendar
  21. roll — on a roll
  22. branch — of a bank
  23. cold — an illness
  24. club — for golf

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