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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: rest · pass · snap · roll · arm · date · branch · cold

  1. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  2. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  3. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  4. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  5. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  6. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  7. My father caught me by the ________________.
  8. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  9. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  10. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  11. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  12. We're on a ________________ here.
  13. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  14. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  15. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  16. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  17. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  18. The water is too ________________.
  19. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  20. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  21. Have you settled on a ________________?
  22. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  23. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  24. You can't go backstage without a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rest — what's left
  2. cold — the Cold War
  3. rest — a break
  4. snap — to speak sharply
  5. arm — part of the body
  6. branch — a division
  7. arm — part of the body
  8. pass — to succeed
  9. date — on the calendar
  10. snap — to click
  11. date — the fruit
  12. roll — on a roll
  13. branch — of a bank
  14. arm — a part of something
  15. snap — to snap out of it
  16. rest — what's left
  17. pass — to spend time
  18. cold — not warm
  19. cold — an illness
  20. roll — a cake
  21. date — on the calendar
  22. branch — of a tree
  23. roll — a list
  24. pass — a permit

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