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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: cold · mate · cell · branch · sharp · mouse · file · present

  1. He was locked up in a ________________.
  2. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  3. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  4. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  5. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  6. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  7. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  8. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  9. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  10. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  11. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  12. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  13. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  14. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  15. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  16. Have you found your soul ________________?
  17. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  18. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  19. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  20. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  21. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  22. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  23. The water is too ________________.
  24. It's one o'clock ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cell — in a prison
  2. file — a tool
  3. mate — to breed
  4. branch — a division
  5. mouse — for a computer
  6. branch — of a bank
  7. present — the time now
  8. cold — the Cold War
  9. branch — of a tree
  10. present — a gift
  11. cell — a phone
  12. sharp — clever
  13. file — a line of people
  14. mouse — the animal
  15. file — a document
  16. mate — a partner
  17. present — there
  18. mate — a friend
  19. cold — an illness
  20. mouse — the animal
  21. cell — in biology
  22. sharp — with an edge
  23. cold — not warm
  24. sharp — exactly

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