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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: branch · rush · bass · calf · cap · tear · cold · rule

  1. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  2. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  3. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  4. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  5. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  6. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  7. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  8. The water is too ________________.
  9. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  10. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  11. That must've been a ________________.
  12. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  13. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  14. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  15. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  16. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  17. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  18. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  19. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  20. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  21. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  22. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  23. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  24. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.

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

Answer key

  1. rush — to hurry
  2. bass — the instrument
  3. rule — government
  4. rule — a law
  5. tear — from crying
  6. cap — a hat
  7. calf — of the leg
  8. cold — not warm
  9. cold — an illness
  10. rush — hurry
  11. rush — a thrill
  12. calf — a young animal
  13. rule — to rule out
  14. calf — a young animal
  15. cap — a lid
  16. branch — a division
  17. tear — from crying
  18. cold — the Cold War
  19. branch — of a bank
  20. bass — low music
  21. bass — the fish
  22. branch — of a tree
  23. cap — of ice
  24. tear — to rip

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