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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 · hide · kick · ruler · wake · stick · branch · mine

  1. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  2. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  3. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  4. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  5. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  6. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  7. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  8. The water is too ________________.
  9. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  10. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  11. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  12. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  13. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  14. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  15. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  16. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  17. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  18. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  19. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  20. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  21. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  22. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  23. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  24. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — an illness
  2. kick — with a leg
  3. stick — a piece of wood
  4. stick — to attach or keep to
  5. branch — of a tree
  6. ruler — a monarch
  7. mine — belonging to me
  8. cold — not warm
  9. hide — to keep secret
  10. hide — animal skin
  11. branch — a division
  12. wake — before a funeral
  13. wake — to stop sleeping
  14. wake — a trail
  15. branch — of a bank
  16. mine — an explosive
  17. hide — to keep secret
  18. stick — a piece of wood
  19. cold — the Cold War
  20. kick — a thrill
  21. ruler — for measuring
  22. ruler — for measuring
  23. mine — for digging
  24. kick — in football

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