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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. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  2. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  3. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  4. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  5. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  6. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  7. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  8. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  9. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  10. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  11. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  12. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  13. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  14. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  15. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  16. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  17. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  18. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  19. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  20. He was locked up in a ________________.
  21. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  22. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  23. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  24. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.

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

Answer key

  1. tear — from crying
  2. patient — calm and waiting
  3. bass — the fish
  4. cell — in biology
  5. bat — the animal
  6. cell — a phone
  7. leaves — lets stay
  8. tear — from crying
  9. leaves — to go away
  10. bass — the instrument
  11. bass — low music
  12. current — electric
  13. branch — a division
  14. patient — a sick person
  15. leaves — of a tree
  16. tear — to rip
  17. patient — a sick person
  18. current — happening now
  19. bat — for baseball
  20. cell — in a prison
  21. bat — in an idiom
  22. current — of water
  23. branch — of a tree
  24. branch — of a bank

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