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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 nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  2. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  3. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  4. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  5. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  6. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  7. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  8. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  9. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  10. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  11. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  12. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  13. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  14. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  15. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  16. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  17. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  18. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  19. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  20. I've got to change the light ________________.
  21. Don't do anything ________________.
  22. The light ________________ burned out.
  23. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  24. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.

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

Answer key

  1. patient — a sick person
  2. patient — calm and waiting
  3. wax — to grow
  4. wax — for sculpting
  5. march — the month
  6. branch — a division
  7. scale — for weighing
  8. march — the month
  9. straw — dry grass
  10. branch — of a bank
  11. straw — a straw man
  12. rash — on the skin
  13. rash — a series
  14. scale — in music
  15. branch — of a tree
  16. wax — in the ear
  17. straw — to clutch at straws
  18. scale — size or range
  19. bulb — of a plant
  20. bulb — for light
  21. rash — hasty
  22. bulb — for light
  23. march — music
  24. patient — a sick person

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