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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. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  2. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  3. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  4. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  5. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  6. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  7. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  8. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  9. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  10. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  11. The water is too ________________.
  12. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  13. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  14. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  15. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  16. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  17. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  18. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. branch — a division
  2. cold — the Cold War
  3. band — a rubber band
  4. rule — to rule out
  5. patient — calm and waiting
  6. patient — a sick person
  7. rule — a law
  8. patient — a sick person
  9. wound — an injury
  10. wound — past of 'wind'
  11. cold — not warm
  12. branch — of a tree
  13. branch — of a bank
  14. band — a music group
  15. cold — an illness
  16. rule — government
  17. wound — an injury
  18. band — a ring

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