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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. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  2. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  3. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  4. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  5. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  6. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  7. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  8. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  9. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  10. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  11. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  12. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  13. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  14. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  15. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  16. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  17. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  18. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  19. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  20. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  21. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  22. When are we going to ________________?
  23. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  24. There's a computer ________________ on the table.

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

Answer key

  1. branch — a division
  2. cap — a lid
  3. land — ground
  4. cap — a hat
  5. spring — the season
  6. patient — calm and waiting
  7. spring — a coil
  8. cap — of ice
  9. chip — for betting
  10. fork — a garden tool
  11. chest — a box
  12. spring — of water
  13. land — a country
  14. chest — of your body
  15. chip — to eat
  16. patient — a sick person
  17. patient — a sick person
  18. branch — of a bank
  19. fork — to eat with
  20. chest — of your body
  21. fork — in a road
  22. land — to come down
  23. branch — of a tree
  24. chip — in a computer

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