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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: court · ground · cap · cold · stem · branch · stick · key

  1. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  2. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  3. The ball is in your ________________.
  4. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  5. The water is too ________________.
  6. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  7. There's no middle ________________.
  8. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  9. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  10. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  11. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  12. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  13. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  14. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  15. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  16. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  17. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  18. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  19. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  20. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  21. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  22. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  23. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  24. This piece is in a major ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. key — for a lock
  2. branch — of a bank
  3. court — for sport
  4. cap — of ice
  5. cold — not warm
  6. cold — the Cold War
  7. ground — a position
  8. court — of a king
  9. branch — of a tree
  10. cap — a lid
  11. key — the most important part
  12. stick — a piece of wood
  13. stick — a piece of wood
  14. stem — a stem cell
  15. ground — crushed
  16. stem — to come from
  17. stem — of a plant
  18. branch — a division
  19. court — of law
  20. stick — to attach or keep to
  21. cold — an illness
  22. cap — a hat
  23. ground — the earth
  24. key — in music

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