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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: ruler · ground · branch · date · chest · cold · cabinet · race

  1. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  2. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  3. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  4. There's no middle ________________.
  5. What do you think of the new ________________?
  6. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  7. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  8. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  9. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  10. The water is too ________________.
  11. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  12. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  13. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  14. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  15. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  16. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  17. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  18. Have you settled on a ________________?
  19. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  20. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  21. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  22. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  23. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  24. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.

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

Answer key

  1. date — the fruit
  2. branch — a division
  3. ground — crushed
  4. ground — a position
  5. cabinet — ministers
  6. cabinet — a cupboard
  7. ruler — for measuring
  8. race — humankind
  9. branch — of a bank
  10. cold — not warm
  11. ruler — a monarch
  12. cold — an illness
  13. race — the arms race
  14. cabinet — ministers
  15. chest — of your body
  16. chest — a box
  17. race — a contest
  18. date — on the calendar
  19. ruler — for measuring
  20. date — on the calendar
  21. chest — of your body
  22. cold — the Cold War
  23. branch — of a tree
  24. ground — the earth

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