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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: date · racket · wound · rule · mate · cold · branch · tube

  1. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  2. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  3. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  4. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  5. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  6. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  7. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  8. I'll be taking the ________________.
  9. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  10. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  11. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  12. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  13. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  14. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  15. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  16. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  17. Have you settled on a ________________?
  18. Have you found your soul ________________?
  19. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  20. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  21. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  22. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  23. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  24. The water is too ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — the Cold War
  2. racket — a loud noise
  3. wound — an injury
  4. rule — government
  5. mate — a friend
  6. tube — a container
  7. racket — for tennis
  8. tube — the underground
  9. mate — to breed
  10. branch — of a bank
  11. branch — of a tree
  12. tube — in a tire
  13. rule — to rule out
  14. date — on the calendar
  15. date — the fruit
  16. branch — a division
  17. date — on the calendar
  18. mate — a partner
  19. cold — an illness
  20. wound — an injury
  21. wound — past of 'wind'
  22. racket — for tennis
  23. rule — a law
  24. cold — not warm

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