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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 120 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. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  2. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  3. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  4. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  5. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  6. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  7. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  8. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  9. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  10. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  11. My father caught me by the ________________.
  12. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  13. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  14. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  15. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  16. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  17. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  18. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  19. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  20. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  21. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  22. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  23. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  24. He is an ace ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pitcher — a jug
  2. patient — a sick person
  3. branch — of a tree
  4. band — a music group
  5. patient — a sick person
  6. patient — calm and waiting
  7. arm — part of the body
  8. wake — to stop sleeping
  9. wake — a trail
  10. mine — an explosive
  11. arm — part of the body
  12. branch — a division
  13. arm — a part of something
  14. band — a rubber band
  15. mine — belonging to me
  16. pitcher — a jug
  17. branch — of a bank
  18. stem — to come from
  19. stem — of a plant
  20. band — a ring
  21. mine — for digging
  22. wake — before a funeral
  23. stem — a stem cell
  24. pitcher — in baseball

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