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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 120 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. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  2. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  3. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  4. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  5. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  6. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  7. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  8. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  9. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  10. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  11. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  12. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  13. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  14. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  15. The ________________ market has crashed.
  16. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  17. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  18. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  19. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  20. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  21. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  22. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  23. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  24. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — to sit on
  2. branch — a division
  3. fork — a garden tool
  4. patient — a sick person
  5. branch — of a bank
  6. field — a subject
  7. fork — in a road
  8. field — farmland
  9. chair — a professorship
  10. stem — to come from
  11. patient — a sick person
  12. branch — of a tree
  13. cap — of ice
  14. stem — a stem cell
  15. stock — shares
  16. stock — a soup base
  17. patient — calm and waiting
  18. fork — to eat with
  19. cap — a lid
  20. stock — goods
  21. field — for sport
  22. stem — of a plant
  23. chair — a leader
  24. cap — a hat

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