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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: branch · rule · bound · cold · deal · mine · stem · straw

  1. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  2. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  3. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  4. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  5. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  6. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  7. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  8. That was ________________ to happen.
  9. The water is too ________________.
  10. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  11. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  12. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  13. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  14. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  15. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  16. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  17. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  18. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  19. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  20. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  21. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  22. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  23. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  24. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — belonging to me
  2. mine — for digging
  3. rule — government
  4. branch — of a tree
  5. stem — a stem cell
  6. bound — tied together
  7. cold — an illness
  8. bound — certain
  9. cold — not warm
  10. cold — the Cold War
  11. bound — obliged
  12. mine — an explosive
  13. straw — a straw man
  14. deal — a big deal
  15. branch — of a bank
  16. rule — a law
  17. branch — a division
  18. stem — of a plant
  19. rule — to rule out
  20. straw — to clutch at straws
  21. deal — an agreement
  22. deal — to handle
  23. stem — to come from
  24. straw — dry grass

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