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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: content · leaves · tube · cold · roll · track · branch · march

  1. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  2. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  3. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  4. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  5. The water is too ________________.
  6. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  7. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  8. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  9. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  10. We're on a ________________ here.
  11. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  12. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  13. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  14. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  15. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  16. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  17. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  18. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  19. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  20. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  21. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  22. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  23. I'll be taking the ________________.
  24. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — the Cold War
  2. content — the amount
  3. content — happy
  4. content — videos and posts
  5. cold — not warm
  6. leaves — lets stay
  7. leaves — to go away
  8. cold — an illness
  9. track — a song
  10. roll — on a roll
  11. branch — a division
  12. roll — a cake
  13. branch — of a tree
  14. march — the month
  15. roll — a list
  16. march — the month
  17. tube — a container
  18. track — a path
  19. leaves — of a tree
  20. march — music
  21. track — to keep track
  22. branch — of a bank
  23. tube — the underground
  24. tube — in a tire

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