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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 120 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 · fall · spell · bore · branch · cue · pit · content

  1. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  2. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  3. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  4. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  5. The water is too ________________.
  6. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  7. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  8. How do you ________________ your surname?
  9. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  10. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  11. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  12. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  13. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  14. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  15. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  16. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  17. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  18. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  19. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  20. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  21. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  22. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  23. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  24. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. branch — of a bank
  2. bore — to tire
  3. spell — a short time
  4. bore — to drill
  5. cold — not warm
  6. cue — a hint
  7. cue — a signal
  8. spell — letters
  9. cue — for pool
  10. content — happy
  11. fall — the season
  12. pit — a fruit stone
  13. pit — a hole
  14. content — the amount
  15. fall — to drop
  16. branch — a division
  17. pit — in a race
  18. bore — gave birth
  19. branch — of a tree
  20. cold — an illness
  21. spell — magic
  22. fall — to drop
  23. cold — the Cold War
  24. content — videos and posts

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