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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. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  2. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  3. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  4. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  5. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  6. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  7. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  8. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  9. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  10. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  11. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  12. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  13. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  14. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  15. Did you ________________ the meat?
  16. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  17. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  18. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  19. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  20. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  21. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  22. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  23. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  24. I'll be taking the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. patient — calm and waiting
  2. hand — part of the body
  3. hand — help
  4. branch — of a bank
  5. capital — a city
  6. season — of the year
  7. patient — a sick person
  8. season — in sport
  9. patient — a sick person
  10. capital — a big letter
  11. rule — a law
  12. capital — money
  13. branch — of a tree
  14. wake — to stop sleeping
  15. season — to add flavour
  16. tube — in a tire
  17. branch — a division
  18. tube — a container
  19. wake — before a funeral
  20. hand — in cards
  21. wake — a trail
  22. rule — to rule out
  23. rule — government
  24. tube — the underground

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