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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 nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  2. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  3. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  4. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  5. He is an ace ________________.
  6. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  7. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  8. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  9. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  10. He works in a ________________ mill.
  11. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  12. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  13. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  14. She's very handy with a ________________.
  15. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  16. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  17. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  18. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  19. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  20. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  21. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  22. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  23. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  24. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. patient — a sick person
  2. fall — to drop
  3. pitcher — a jug
  4. chip — in a computer
  5. pitcher — in baseball
  6. branch — a division
  7. band — a ring
  8. fall — the season
  9. chip — for betting
  10. saw — the tool
  11. pitcher — a jug
  12. band — a rubber band
  13. fall — to drop
  14. saw — the tool
  15. capital — money
  16. saw — past of 'see'
  17. branch — of a tree
  18. patient — calm and waiting
  19. patient — a sick person
  20. chip — to eat
  21. capital — a city
  22. capital — a big letter
  23. branch — of a bank
  24. band — a music 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