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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 120 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: chest · mine · object · branch · wound · calf · cold · mouse

  1. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  2. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  3. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  4. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  5. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  6. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  7. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  8. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  9. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  10. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  11. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  12. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  13. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  14. The water is too ________________.
  15. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  16. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  17. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  18. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  19. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  20. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  21. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  22. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  23. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  24. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?

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

Answer key

  1. cold — an illness
  2. mine — belonging to me
  3. wound — an injury
  4. calf — a young animal
  5. chest — of your body
  6. cold — the Cold War
  7. object — a thing
  8. mine — an explosive
  9. wound — past of 'wind'
  10. branch — a division
  11. chest — of your body
  12. mouse — the animal
  13. branch — of a bank
  14. cold — not warm
  15. chest — a box
  16. mouse — the animal
  17. mouse — for a computer
  18. calf — of the leg
  19. wound — an injury
  20. calf — a young animal
  21. branch — of a tree
  22. mine — for digging
  23. object — an aim
  24. object — to protest

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