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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 belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  2. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  3. I've got to change the light ________________.
  4. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  5. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  6. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  7. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  8. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  9. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  10. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  11. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  12. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  13. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  14. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  15. He works in a ________________ mill.
  16. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  17. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  18. The light ________________ burned out.
  19. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  20. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  21. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  22. She's very handy with a ________________.
  23. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  24. The water is too ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. club — a group
  2. branch — of a tree
  3. bulb — for light
  4. branch — a division
  5. fan — to cool the air
  6. bulb — of a plant
  7. patient — calm and waiting
  8. saw — past of 'see'
  9. patient — a sick person
  10. kid — to tease
  11. fan — a supporter
  12. cold — the Cold War
  13. patient — a sick person
  14. club — for dancing
  15. saw — the tool
  16. cold — an illness
  17. kid — child
  18. bulb — for light
  19. branch — of a bank
  20. club — for golf
  21. fan — a supporter
  22. saw — the tool
  23. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  24. cold — not warm

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