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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 flowers bloom in the ________________.
  2. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  3. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  4. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  5. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  6. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  7. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  8. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  9. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  10. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  11. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  12. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  13. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  14. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  15. He was locked up in a ________________.
  16. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  17. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  18. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  19. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  20. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  21. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  22. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  23. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  24. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — the season
  2. can — a tin
  3. squash — the vegetable
  4. branch — of a tree
  5. spring — of water
  6. patient — a sick person
  7. present — a gift
  8. patient — calm and waiting
  9. present — there
  10. lie — an untruth
  11. lie — to recline
  12. squash — the sport
  13. cell — a phone
  14. can — to be able to
  15. cell — in a prison
  16. present — the time now
  17. patient — a sick person
  18. lie — an untruth
  19. squash — to crush
  20. branch — of a bank
  21. spring — a coil
  22. can — a tin
  23. branch — a division
  24. cell — in biology

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