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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 116 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 in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  2. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  3. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  4. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  5. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  6. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  7. There's no middle ________________.
  8. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  9. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  10. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  11. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  12. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  13. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  14. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  15. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  16. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  17. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  18. He's taking a ________________ right now.

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

Answer key

  1. patient — a sick person
  2. ground — the earth
  3. bat — the animal
  4. bat — for baseball
  5. branch — of a bank
  6. shower — rain
  7. ground — a position
  8. ground — crushed
  9. rock — to move gently
  10. bat — in an idiom
  11. rock — a stone
  12. rock — music
  13. branch — a division
  14. patient — calm and waiting
  15. branch — of a tree
  16. shower — a meteor shower
  17. patient — a sick person
  18. shower — to wash

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