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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. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  2. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  3. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  4. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  5. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  6. The ________________ market has crashed.
  7. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  8. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  9. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  10. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  11. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  12. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  13. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  14. When are we going to ________________?
  15. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  16. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  17. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  18. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  19. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  20. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  21. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  22. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  23. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  24. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. patient — calm and waiting
  2. branch — of a bank
  3. hide — to keep secret
  4. hide — to keep secret
  5. land — a country
  6. stock — shares
  7. branch — a division
  8. stock — a soup base
  9. stock — goods
  10. craft — boats
  11. degree — temperature
  12. hide — animal skin
  13. patient — a sick person
  14. land — to come down
  15. land — ground
  16. craft — a skill
  17. craft — a handicraft
  18. degree — an amount
  19. patient — a sick person
  20. branch — of a tree
  21. degree — from a university
  22. calf — of the leg
  23. calf — a young animal
  24. calf — a young animal

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