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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: game · wind · suit · safe · roll · cold · chest · branch

  1. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  2. We're on a ________________ here.
  3. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  4. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  5. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  6. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  7. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  8. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  9. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  10. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  11. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  12. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  13. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  14. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  15. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  16. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  17. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  18. The water is too ________________.
  19. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  20. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  21. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  22. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  23. That was a fun ________________.
  24. When will it ________________ you to start?

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

Answer key

  1. roll — a list
  2. roll — on a roll
  3. cold — an illness
  4. game — wild animals
  5. wind — moving air
  6. roll — a cake
  7. wind — moving air
  8. suit — clothes
  9. wind — to turn a key
  10. chest — of your body
  11. chest — of your body
  12. branch — of a bank
  13. chest — a box
  14. game — a kind of play
  15. branch — of a tree
  16. suit — in cards
  17. safe — out of danger
  18. cold — not warm
  19. cold — the Cold War
  20. safe — out of danger
  21. safe — a strongbox
  22. branch — a division
  23. game — a match
  24. suit — to fit

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