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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: branch · rest · key · pit · cap · cold · net · spring

  1. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  2. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  3. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  4. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  5. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  6. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  7. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  8. The water is too ________________.
  9. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  10. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  11. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  12. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  13. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  14. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  15. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  16. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  17. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  18. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  19. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  20. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  21. This piece is in a major ________________.
  22. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  23. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  24. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pit — a hole
  2. branch — of a bank
  3. pit — a fruit stone
  4. branch — of a tree
  5. pit — in a race
  6. cap — a hat
  7. rest — what's left
  8. cold — not warm
  9. cold — an illness
  10. rest — a break
  11. net — for catching
  12. cap — a lid
  13. spring — the season
  14. spring — a coil
  15. key — the most important part
  16. branch — a division
  17. net — in sport
  18. rest — what's left
  19. cold — the Cold War
  20. key — for a lock
  21. key — in music
  22. cap — of ice
  23. net — after costs
  24. spring — of water

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