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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. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  2. She's very handy with a ________________.
  3. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  4. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  5. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  6. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  7. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  8. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  9. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  10. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  11. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  12. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  13. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  14. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  15. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  16. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  17. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  18. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  19. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  20. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  21. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  22. He works in a ________________ mill.
  23. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  24. 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 — of a bank
  2. saw — the tool
  3. branch — a division
  4. capital — a big letter
  5. scale — in music
  6. spring — a coil
  7. spring — the season
  8. saw — past of 'see'
  9. spring — of water
  10. scale — for weighing
  11. scale — size or range
  12. wound — an injury
  13. patient — calm and waiting
  14. wound — an injury
  15. net — in sport
  16. capital — money
  17. net — for catching
  18. patient — a sick person
  19. net — after costs
  20. patient — a sick person
  21. wound — past of 'wind'
  22. saw — the tool
  23. capital — a city
  24. 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