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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: rule · pop · mate · branch · fan · mouse · nail · cold

  1. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  2. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  3. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  4. The water is too ________________.
  5. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  6. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  7. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  8. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  9. Have you found your soul ________________?
  10. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  11. We're almost out of ________________.
  12. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  13. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  14. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  15. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  16. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  17. The ________________ went through the wall.
  18. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  19. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  20. You don't need to ________________ round.
  21. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  22. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  23. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  24. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.

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

Answer key

  1. mouse — for a computer
  2. pop — music
  3. nail — on a finger
  4. cold — not warm
  5. mate — a friend
  6. mouse — the animal
  7. rule — to rule out
  8. mate — to breed
  9. mate — a partner
  10. fan — a supporter
  11. pop — soda
  12. cold — an illness
  13. fan — to cool the air
  14. branch — a division
  15. branch — of a tree
  16. branch — of a bank
  17. nail — for a hammer
  18. mouse — the animal
  19. cold — the Cold War
  20. pop — to visit
  21. rule — government
  22. rule — a law
  23. nail — for a hammer
  24. fan — a supporter

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