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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. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  2. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  3. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  4. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  5. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  6. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  7. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  8. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  9. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  10. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  11. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  12. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  13. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  14. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  15. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  16. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  17. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  18. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  19. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  20. The King held a masked ________________.
  21. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  22. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  23. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  24. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.

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

Answer key

  1. bank — for money
  2. chest — of your body
  3. ball — a round shape
  4. chest — of your body
  5. patient — a sick person
  6. band — a ring
  7. bank — of a river
  8. branch — a division
  9. hand — help
  10. branch — of a bank
  11. patient — calm and waiting
  12. root — of a word
  13. ball — a great time
  14. patient — a sick person
  15. bank — for money
  16. band — a music group
  17. hand — in cards
  18. hand — part of the body
  19. root — of a plant
  20. ball — a dance
  21. chest — a box
  22. branch — of a tree
  23. root — the cause
  24. band — a rubber band

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