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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: branch · prune · key · track · cold · calf · staff · cabinet

  1. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  2. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  3. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  4. What do you think of the new ________________?
  5. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  6. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  7. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  8. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  9. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  10. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  11. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  12. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  13. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  14. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  15. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  16. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  17. This piece is in a major ________________.
  18. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  19. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  20. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  21. The water is too ________________.
  22. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  23. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  24. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.

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

Answer key

  1. staff — a stick
  2. calf — of the leg
  3. staff — employees
  4. cabinet — ministers
  5. track — a song
  6. branch — of a bank
  7. calf — a young animal
  8. staff — employees
  9. branch — of a tree
  10. track — a path
  11. key — for a lock
  12. cold — an illness
  13. prune — to trim
  14. cabinet — a cupboard
  15. key — the most important part
  16. prune — to trim
  17. key — in music
  18. calf — a young animal
  19. track — to keep track
  20. branch — a division
  21. cold — not warm
  22. cabinet — ministers
  23. prune — the fruit
  24. cold — the Cold War

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