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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: cold · firm · lie · branch · date · ground · spring · rest

  1. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  2. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  3. There's no middle ________________.
  4. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  5. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  6. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  7. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  8. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  9. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  10. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  11. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  12. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  13. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  14. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  15. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  16. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  17. Have you settled on a ________________?
  18. The water is too ________________.
  19. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  20. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  21. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  22. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  23. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  24. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.

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

Answer key

  1. firm — decided
  2. cold — the Cold War
  3. ground — a position
  4. firm — a company
  5. lie — an untruth
  6. branch — a division
  7. branch — of a tree
  8. rest — what's left
  9. ground — the earth
  10. lie — to recline
  11. date — the fruit
  12. firm — steady
  13. spring — the season
  14. ground — crushed
  15. rest — a break
  16. spring — of water
  17. date — on the calendar
  18. cold — not warm
  19. date — on the calendar
  20. spring — a coil
  21. rest — what's left
  22. branch — of a bank
  23. lie — an untruth
  24. cold — an illness

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