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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: toast · cold · rule · stick · vault · march · trunk · branch

  1. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  2. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  3. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  4. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  5. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  6. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  7. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  8. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  9. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  10. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  11. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  12. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  13. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  14. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  15. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  16. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  17. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  18. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  19. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  20. The water is too ________________.
  21. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  22. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  23. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  24. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — an illness
  2. branch — of a tree
  3. branch — a division
  4. march — music
  5. branch — of a bank
  6. stick — a piece of wood
  7. rule — a law
  8. stick — a piece of wood
  9. stick — to attach or keep to
  10. rule — government
  11. cold — the Cold War
  12. march — the month
  13. toast — a drink to someone
  14. trunk — of a car
  15. vault — an arched ceiling
  16. vault — a safe
  17. rule — to rule out
  18. march — the month
  19. toast — bread
  20. cold — not warm
  21. toast — the most admired
  22. trunk — of an elephant
  23. vault — in gymnastics
  24. trunk — of a tree

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