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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: date · board · rule · branch · cap · cell · cold · kick

  1. Have you settled on a ________________?
  2. The water is too ________________.
  3. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  4. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  5. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  6. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  7. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  8. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  9. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  10. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  11. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  12. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  13. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  14. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  15. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  16. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  17. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  18. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  19. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  20. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  21. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  22. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  23. He was locked up in a ________________.
  24. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.

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

Answer key

  1. date — on the calendar
  2. cold — not warm
  3. cell — in biology
  4. cap — a hat
  5. branch — a division
  6. cap — of ice
  7. date — the fruit
  8. kick — with a leg
  9. kick — a thrill
  10. cell — a phone
  11. cold — the Cold War
  12. cold — an illness
  13. kick — in football
  14. board — to get on
  15. rule — government
  16. date — on the calendar
  17. board — a flat piece
  18. branch — of a tree
  19. rule — to rule out
  20. cap — a lid
  21. board — a committee
  22. branch — of a bank
  23. cell — in a prison
  24. rule — a law

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