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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. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  3. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  4. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  5. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  6. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  7. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  8. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  9. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  10. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  11. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  12. That was ________________ to happen.
  13. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  14. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  15. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  16. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  17. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  18. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  19. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  20. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  21. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  22. He is an ace ________________.
  23. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  24. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.

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

Answer key

  1. patient — calm and waiting
  2. patient — a sick person
  3. bound — obliged
  4. perch — the fish
  5. race — a contest
  6. pitcher — a jug
  7. race — the arms race
  8. wake — to stop sleeping
  9. branch — of a tree
  10. branch — a division
  11. pitcher — a jug
  12. bound — certain
  13. race — humankind
  14. perch — for a bird
  15. capital — a big letter
  16. perch — for a bird
  17. bound — tied together
  18. capital — money
  19. patient — a sick person
  20. wake — a trail
  21. branch — of a bank
  22. pitcher — in baseball
  23. capital — a city
  24. wake — before a funeral

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