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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: chest · jam · branch · snap · present · cold · track · club

  1. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  2. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  3. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  4. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  5. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  6. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  7. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  8. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  9. The water is too ________________.
  10. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  11. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  12. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  13. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  14. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  15. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  16. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  17. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  18. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  19. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  20. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  21. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  22. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  23. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  24. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.

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

Answer key

  1. branch — of a tree
  2. track — a song
  3. present — a gift
  4. snap — to speak sharply
  5. present — there
  6. branch — a division
  7. chest — of your body
  8. present — the time now
  9. cold — not warm
  10. cold — an illness
  11. branch — of a bank
  12. track — to keep track
  13. cold — the Cold War
  14. club — for dancing
  15. club — for golf
  16. club — a group
  17. snap — to click
  18. jam — a tight spot
  19. jam — to spread on bread
  20. snap — to snap out of it
  21. jam — in traffic
  22. chest — a box
  23. track — a path
  24. chest — of your body

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