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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. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  2. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  3. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  4. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  5. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  6. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  7. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  8. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  9. When are we going to ________________?
  10. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  11. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  12. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  13. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  14. That was ________________ to happen.
  15. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  16. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  17. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  18. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  19. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  20. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  21. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  22. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  23. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  24. We are ________________ to obey laws.

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

Answer key

  1. bound — tied together
  2. spring — of water
  3. spring — a coil
  4. root — of a word
  5. root — of a plant
  6. branch — of a bank
  7. pass — to spend time
  8. land — a country
  9. land — to come down
  10. pass — a permit
  11. patient — calm and waiting
  12. pass — to succeed
  13. patient — a sick person
  14. bound — certain
  15. spring — the season
  16. branch — a division
  17. root — the cause
  18. land — ground
  19. bat — for baseball
  20. branch — of a tree
  21. bat — the animal
  22. bat — in an idiom
  23. patient — a sick person
  24. bound — obliged

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