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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. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  2. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  3. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  4. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  5. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  6. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  7. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  8. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  9. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  10. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  11. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  12. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  13. It's one o'clock ________________.
  14. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  15. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  16. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  17. When are we going to ________________?
  18. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  19. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  20. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  21. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  22. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  23. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  24. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. branch — of a tree
  2. sharp — clever
  3. lie — an untruth
  4. land — ground
  5. rest — what's left
  6. rest — a break
  7. wound — an injury
  8. patient — a sick person
  9. branch — a division
  10. wound — past of 'wind'
  11. bat — the animal
  12. branch — of a bank
  13. sharp — exactly
  14. rest — what's left
  15. bat — in an idiom
  16. lie — to recline
  17. land — to come down
  18. sharp — with an edge
  19. land — a country
  20. patient — calm and waiting
  21. wound — an injury
  22. bat — for baseball
  23. lie — an untruth
  24. patient — a sick person

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