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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. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  2. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  3. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  4. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  5. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  6. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  7. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  8. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  9. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  10. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  11. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  12. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  13. Have you found your soul ________________?
  14. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  15. The water is too ________________.
  16. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  17. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  18. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  19. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  20. When are we going to ________________?
  21. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  22. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  23. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  24. False peace will not ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bank — for money
  2. mate — a friend
  3. last — final
  4. cold — the Cold War
  5. stick — a piece of wood
  6. stick — a piece of wood
  7. stick — to attach or keep to
  8. bank — for money
  9. patient — a sick person
  10. land — a country
  11. mate — to breed
  12. branch — a division
  13. mate — a partner
  14. patient — calm and waiting
  15. cold — not warm
  16. patient — a sick person
  17. branch — of a bank
  18. land — ground
  19. bank — of a river
  20. land — to come down
  21. cold — an illness
  22. branch — of a tree
  23. last — finally
  24. last — to go on

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