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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. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  2. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  3. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  4. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  5. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  6. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  7. When are we going to ________________?
  8. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  9. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  10. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  11. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  12. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  13. My father caught me by the ________________.
  14. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  15. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  16. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  17. Did you ________________ the meat?
  18. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  19. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  20. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  21. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  22. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  23. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  24. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.

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

Answer key

  1. branch — of a bank
  2. patient — a sick person
  3. pitch — a sports field
  4. chip — to eat
  5. pitch — completely
  6. file — a tool
  7. land — to come down
  8. pitch — a sales talk
  9. file — a document
  10. chip — for betting
  11. branch — a division
  12. patient — calm and waiting
  13. arm — part of the body
  14. chip — in a computer
  15. season — in sport
  16. season — of the year
  17. season — to add flavour
  18. file — a line of people
  19. land — a country
  20. land — ground
  21. branch — of a tree
  22. arm — a part of something
  23. patient — a sick person
  24. arm — part of the body

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