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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: bowl · mouse · cold · prune · rock · fall · cap · branch

  1. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  2. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  3. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  4. The water is too ________________.
  5. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  6. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  7. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  8. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  9. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  10. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  11. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  12. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  13. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  14. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  15. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  16. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  17. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  18. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  19. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  20. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  21. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  22. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  23. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  24. We were using a ________________ as a seat.

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

Answer key

  1. rock — to move gently
  2. bowl — a football final
  3. fall — to drop
  4. cold — not warm
  5. prune — to trim
  6. cold — the Cold War
  7. cold — an illness
  8. bowl — to roll
  9. mouse — the animal
  10. bowl — a dish
  11. prune — the fruit
  12. branch — a division
  13. branch — of a bank
  14. fall — the season
  15. cap — a hat
  16. branch — of a tree
  17. rock — music
  18. mouse — the animal
  19. fall — to drop
  20. cap — a lid
  21. cap — of ice
  22. prune — to trim
  23. mouse — for a computer
  24. rock — a stone

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