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

  1. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  2. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  3. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  4. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  5. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  6. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  7. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  8. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  9. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  10. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  11. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  12. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  13. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  14. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  15. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  16. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  17. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  18. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.

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

Answer key

  1. branch — a division
  2. wind — moving air
  3. patient — a sick person
  4. patient — calm and waiting
  5. pitch — a sales talk
  6. racket — a loud noise
  7. content — videos and posts
  8. pitch — a sports field
  9. content — the amount
  10. racket — for tennis
  11. pitch — completely
  12. patient — a sick person
  13. wind — to turn a key
  14. racket — for tennis
  15. branch — of a bank
  16. wind — moving air
  17. content — happy
  18. branch — of a tree

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