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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. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  2. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  3. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  4. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  5. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  6. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  7. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  8. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  9. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  10. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  11. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  12. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  13. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  14. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  15. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  16. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  17. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  18. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  19. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  20. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  21. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  22. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  23. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  24. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.

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

Answer key

  1. cap — of ice
  2. tear — from crying
  3. branch — a division
  4. tear — from crying
  5. cap — a hat
  6. bank — for money
  7. patient — a sick person
  8. tear — to rip
  9. cap — a lid
  10. club — for dancing
  11. bank — for money
  12. club — for golf
  13. branch — of a bank
  14. board — to get on
  15. patient — a sick person
  16. bank — of a river
  17. field — for sport
  18. branch — of a tree
  19. patient — calm and waiting
  20. board — a flat piece
  21. field — farmland
  22. field — a subject
  23. board — a committee
  24. club — a group

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