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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: bank · branch · stand · racket · kick · squash · rush · cell

  1. I can't ________________ this cold.
  2. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  3. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  4. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  5. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  6. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  7. He was locked up in a ________________.
  8. That must've been a ________________.
  9. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  10. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  11. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  12. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  13. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  14. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  15. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  16. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  17. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  18. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  19. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  20. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  21. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  22. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  23. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  24. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.

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

Answer key

  1. stand — to bear
  2. rush — hurry
  3. racket — a loud noise
  4. racket — for tennis
  5. bank — for money
  6. bank — for money
  7. cell — in a prison
  8. rush — a thrill
  9. stand — for spectators
  10. cell — a phone
  11. racket — for tennis
  12. bank — of a river
  13. kick — a thrill
  14. cell — in biology
  15. branch — of a bank
  16. rush — to hurry
  17. squash — to crush
  18. kick — in football
  19. squash — the vegetable
  20. squash — the sport
  21. branch — a division
  22. branch — of a tree
  23. kick — with a leg
  24. stand — on your feet

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