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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: snap · cold · branch · mark · key · cap · lean · game

  1. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  2. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  3. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  4. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  5. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  6. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  7. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  8. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  9. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  10. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  11. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  12. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  13. The water is too ________________.
  14. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  15. This piece is in a major ________________.
  16. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  17. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  18. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  19. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  20. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  21. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  22. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  23. That was a fun ________________.
  24. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?

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

Answer key

  1. key — the most important part
  2. branch — a division
  3. lean — thin
  4. snap — to speak sharply
  5. cold — an illness
  6. mark — a trace
  7. cold — the Cold War
  8. cap — a hat
  9. branch — of a bank
  10. branch — of a tree
  11. cap — a lid
  12. snap — to click
  13. cold — not warm
  14. game — wild animals
  15. key — in music
  16. lean — to bend
  17. cap — of ice
  18. snap — to snap out of it
  19. lean — to rest against
  20. mark — a grade
  21. mark — to pay attention
  22. game — a kind of play
  23. game — a match
  24. key — for a lock

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