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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: cell · fan · hide · fork · key · branch · cold · swing

  1. David sat on the ________________.
  2. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  3. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  4. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  5. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  6. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  7. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  8. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  9. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  10. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  11. The water is too ________________.
  12. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  13. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  14. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  15. He was locked up in a ________________.
  16. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  17. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  18. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  19. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  20. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  21. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  22. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  23. This piece is in a major ________________.
  24. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.

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

Answer key

  1. swing — to play on
  2. fan — a supporter
  3. cold — an illness
  4. branch — a division
  5. cell — a phone
  6. swing — music
  7. branch — of a bank
  8. swing — in golf
  9. fork — to eat with
  10. fork — in a road
  11. cold — not warm
  12. hide — to keep secret
  13. fan — to cool the air
  14. key — for a lock
  15. cell — in a prison
  16. fan — a supporter
  17. key — the most important part
  18. hide — animal skin
  19. fork — a garden tool
  20. branch — of a tree
  21. cold — the Cold War
  22. hide — to keep secret
  23. key — in music
  24. cell — in biology

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