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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 124 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. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  2. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  3. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  4. The water is too ________________.
  5. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  6. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  7. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  8. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  9. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  10. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  11. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  12. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  13. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  14. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  15. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  16. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  17. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  18. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  19. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  20. My father caught me by the ________________.
  21. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  22. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  23. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  24. Have you settled on a ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. cold — an illness
  2. row — to paddle
  3. branch — of a bank
  4. cold — not warm
  5. perch — the fish
  6. cue — a signal
  7. patient — a sick person
  8. cue — a hint
  9. perch — for a bird
  10. branch — a division
  11. date — on the calendar
  12. branch — of a tree
  13. arm — part of the body
  14. cold — the Cold War
  15. cue — for pool
  16. arm — a part of something
  17. date — the fruit
  18. patient — a sick person
  19. patient — calm and waiting
  20. arm — part of the body
  21. row — a quarrel
  22. perch — for a bird
  23. row — a line
  24. date — on the calendar

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