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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 farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  2. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  3. My father caught me by the ________________.
  4. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  5. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  6. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  7. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  8. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  9. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  10. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  11. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  12. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  13. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  14. She's very handy with a ________________.
  15. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  16. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  17. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  18. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  19. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  20. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  21. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  22. He works in a ________________ mill.
  23. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  24. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.

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

Answer key

  1. patient — calm and waiting
  2. present — there
  3. arm — part of the body
  4. pass — a permit
  5. patient — a sick person
  6. branch — of a bank
  7. mine — an explosive
  8. present — a gift
  9. pass — to spend time
  10. saw — past of 'see'
  11. patient — a sick person
  12. mine — belonging to me
  13. present — the time now
  14. saw — the tool
  15. arm — a part of something
  16. shower — to wash
  17. shower — a meteor shower
  18. mine — for digging
  19. shower — rain
  20. pass — to succeed
  21. branch — a division
  22. saw — the tool
  23. branch — of a tree
  24. arm — part of the body

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