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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: calf · pop · cell · cold · land · branch · snap · present

  1. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  2. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  3. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  4. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  5. You don't need to ________________ round.
  6. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  7. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  8. When are we going to ________________?
  9. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  10. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  11. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  12. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  13. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  14. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  15. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  16. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  17. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  18. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  19. He was locked up in a ________________.
  20. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  21. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  22. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  23. We're almost out of ________________.
  24. The water is too ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cell — in biology
  2. calf — a young animal
  3. branch — of a bank
  4. branch — a division
  5. pop — to visit
  6. pop — music
  7. snap — to click
  8. land — to come down
  9. calf — of the leg
  10. snap — to speak sharply
  11. snap — to snap out of it
  12. land — a country
  13. branch — of a tree
  14. present — the time now
  15. calf — a young animal
  16. present — a gift
  17. cell — a phone
  18. cold — the Cold War
  19. cell — in a prison
  20. land — ground
  21. present — there
  22. cold — an illness
  23. pop — soda
  24. cold — not warm

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