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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: bear · branch · last · fall · leaves · race · cap · cue

  1. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  2. False peace will not ________________.
  3. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  4. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  5. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  6. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  7. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  8. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  9. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  10. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  11. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  12. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  13. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  14. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  15. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  16. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  17. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  18. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  19. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  20. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  21. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  22. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  23. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  24. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. last — final
  2. last — to go on
  3. bear — the animal
  4. cue — for pool
  5. leaves — of a tree
  6. cap — of ice
  7. leaves — lets stay
  8. cap — a lid
  9. bear — the animal
  10. fall — to drop
  11. cue — a signal
  12. cap — a hat
  13. race — a contest
  14. fall — the season
  15. cue — a hint
  16. branch — of a tree
  17. branch — a division
  18. leaves — to go away
  19. branch — of a bank
  20. race — the arms race
  21. fall — to drop
  22. last — finally
  23. bear — to put up with
  24. race — humankind

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