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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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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 · band · leaves · club · hide · rush · cold · current

  1. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  2. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  3. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  4. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  5. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  6. That must've been a ________________.
  7. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  8. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  9. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  10. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  11. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  12. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  13. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  14. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  15. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  16. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  17. The water is too ________________.
  18. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  19. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  20. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  21. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  22. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  23. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  24. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. club — for golf
  2. hide — to keep secret
  3. club — a group
  4. current — of water
  5. cold — the Cold War
  6. rush — a thrill
  7. leaves — of a tree
  8. leaves — lets stay
  9. branch — of a tree
  10. rush — to hurry
  11. band — a music group
  12. rush — hurry
  13. hide — to keep secret
  14. club — for dancing
  15. hide — animal skin
  16. branch — a division
  17. cold — not warm
  18. current — happening now
  19. branch — of a bank
  20. band — a rubber band
  21. leaves — to go away
  22. cold — an illness
  23. current — electric
  24. band — a ring

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