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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. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  2. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  3. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  4. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  5. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  6. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  7. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  8. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  9. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  10. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  11. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  12. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  13. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  14. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  15. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  16. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  17. Did you ________________ the meat?
  18. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  19. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  20. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  21. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  22. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  23. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  24. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. patient — a sick person
  2. bat — in an idiom
  3. branch — of a tree
  4. patient — a sick person
  5. capital — a city
  6. branch — of a bank
  7. capital — money
  8. branch — a division
  9. season — in sport
  10. mark — a trace
  11. season — of the year
  12. root — the cause
  13. mark — a grade
  14. mark — to pay attention
  15. root — of a word
  16. capital — a big letter
  17. season — to add flavour
  18. band — a rubber band
  19. patient — calm and waiting
  20. bat — the animal
  21. root — of a plant
  22. bat — for baseball
  23. band — a ring
  24. band — a music group

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