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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: tear · branch · file · mark · cold · date · calf · last

  1. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  2. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  3. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  4. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  5. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  6. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  7. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  8. The water is too ________________.
  9. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  10. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  11. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  12. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  13. Have you settled on a ________________?
  14. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  15. False peace will not ________________.
  16. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  17. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  18. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  19. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  20. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  21. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  22. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  23. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  24. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. mark — a grade
  2. branch — a division
  3. tear — from crying
  4. cold — the Cold War
  5. calf — a young animal
  6. calf — a young animal
  7. date — the fruit
  8. cold — not warm
  9. mark — a trace
  10. last — final
  11. file — a document
  12. branch — of a bank
  13. date — on the calendar
  14. file — a tool
  15. last — to go on
  16. tear — to rip
  17. mark — to pay attention
  18. calf — of the leg
  19. branch — of a tree
  20. last — finally
  21. file — a line of people
  22. tear — from crying
  23. cold — an illness
  24. date — on the calendar

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