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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. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  2. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  3. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  4. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  5. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  6. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  7. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  8. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  9. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  10. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  11. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  12. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  13. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  14. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  15. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  16. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  17. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  18. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  19. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  20. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  21. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  22. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  23. David sat on the ________________.
  24. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.

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

Answer key

  1. stick — a piece of wood
  2. spring — of water
  3. branch — of a bank
  4. spring — a coil
  5. staff — employees
  6. patient — a sick person
  7. patient — calm and waiting
  8. patient — a sick person
  9. stick — a piece of wood
  10. march — the month
  11. spring — the season
  12. staff — a stick
  13. swing — in golf
  14. bank — of a river
  15. branch — a division
  16. staff — employees
  17. bank — for money
  18. branch — of a tree
  19. swing — music
  20. bank — for money
  21. stick — to attach or keep to
  22. march — the month
  23. swing — to play on
  24. march — music

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