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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: deal · cell · rush · key · toast · cold · branch · firm

  1. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  2. That must've been a ________________.
  3. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  4. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  5. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  6. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  7. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  8. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  9. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  10. This piece is in a major ________________.
  11. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  12. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  13. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  14. He was locked up in a ________________.
  15. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  16. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  17. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  18. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  19. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  20. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  21. The water is too ________________.
  22. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  23. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  24. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.

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

Answer key

  1. toast — the most admired
  2. rush — a thrill
  3. cold — an illness
  4. branch — of a tree
  5. key — the most important part
  6. cell — in biology
  7. firm — a company
  8. deal — to handle
  9. key — for a lock
  10. key — in music
  11. deal — an agreement
  12. toast — bread
  13. firm — steady
  14. cell — in a prison
  15. rush — to hurry
  16. cold — the Cold War
  17. deal — a big deal
  18. rush — hurry
  19. firm — decided
  20. toast — a drink to someone
  21. cold — not warm
  22. cell — a phone
  23. branch — a division
  24. branch — of a bank

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