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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: branch · track · wind · key · rest · cold · calf · fine

  1. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  2. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  3. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  4. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  5. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  6. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  7. This piece is in a major ________________.
  8. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  9. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  10. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  11. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  12. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  13. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  14. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  15. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  16. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  17. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  18. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  19. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  20. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  21. The water is too ________________.
  22. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  23. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  24. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.

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

Answer key

  1. track — to keep track
  2. wind — to turn a key
  3. wind — moving air
  4. fine — high quality
  5. cold — an illness
  6. calf — a young animal
  7. key — in music
  8. track — a song
  9. rest — a break
  10. calf — of the leg
  11. track — a path
  12. wind — moving air
  13. calf — a young animal
  14. branch — a division
  15. key — for a lock
  16. rest — what's left
  17. fine — all right
  18. key — the most important part
  19. rest — what's left
  20. branch — of a bank
  21. cold — not warm
  22. cold — the Cold War
  23. fine — a penalty
  24. branch — of a tree

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