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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 116 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. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  2. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  3. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  4. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  5. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  6. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  7. Did you ________________ the meat?
  8. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  9. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  10. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  11. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  12. The water is too ________________.
  13. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  14. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  15. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  16. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  17. When are we going to ________________?
  18. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  19. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  20. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  21. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  22. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  23. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  24. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.

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

Answer key

  1. object — a thing
  2. branch — of a bank
  3. present — there
  4. cold — the Cold War
  5. branch — a division
  6. patient — calm and waiting
  7. season — to add flavour
  8. bear — to put up with
  9. object — to protest
  10. bear — the animal
  11. land — a country
  12. cold — not warm
  13. patient — a sick person
  14. season — of the year
  15. bear — the animal
  16. cold — an illness
  17. land — to come down
  18. patient — a sick person
  19. present — a gift
  20. land — ground
  21. object — an aim
  22. season — in sport
  23. branch — of a tree
  24. present — the time now

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