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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. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  2. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  3. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  4. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  5. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  6. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  7. The water is too ________________.
  8. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  9. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  10. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  11. He works in a ________________ mill.
  12. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  13. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  14. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  15. Did you ________________ the button?
  16. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  17. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  18. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  19. She's very handy with a ________________.
  20. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  21. I'll be taking the ________________.
  22. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  23. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  24. The polar ice ________________ is melting.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — in an idiom
  2. cap — a lid
  3. tube — in a tire
  4. branch — a division
  5. patient — a sick person
  6. cap — a hat
  7. cold — not warm
  8. branch — of a bank
  9. bat — the animal
  10. patient — calm and waiting
  11. saw — the tool
  12. cold — the Cold War
  13. bat — for baseball
  14. cold — an illness
  15. press — to push
  16. tube — a container
  17. press — newspapers
  18. press — a publisher
  19. saw — the tool
  20. saw — past of 'see'
  21. tube — the underground
  22. branch — of a tree
  23. patient — a sick person
  24. cap — of ice

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