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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 116 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: leaves · calf · straw · spring · pit · branch · fork · cold

  1. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  2. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  3. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  4. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  5. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  6. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  7. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  8. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  9. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  10. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  11. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  12. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  13. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  14. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  15. The water is too ________________.
  16. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  17. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  18. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  19. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  20. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  21. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  22. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  23. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  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. leaves — to go away
  2. cold — the Cold War
  3. pit — in a race
  4. branch — a division
  5. calf — of the leg
  6. pit — a fruit stone
  7. branch — of a bank
  8. branch — of a tree
  9. spring — the season
  10. pit — a hole
  11. spring — a coil
  12. spring — of water
  13. calf — a young animal
  14. calf — a young animal
  15. cold — not warm
  16. fork — to eat with
  17. fork — a garden tool
  18. straw — to clutch at straws
  19. leaves — of a tree
  20. fork — in a road
  21. straw — a straw man
  22. straw — dry grass
  23. leaves — lets stay
  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