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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. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  2. The water is too ________________.
  3. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  4. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  5. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  6. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  7. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  8. The ________________ took off on time.
  9. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  10. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  11. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  12. When are we going to ________________?
  13. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  14. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  15. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  16. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  17. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  18. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  19. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  20. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  21. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  22. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  23. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  24. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?

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

Answer key

  1. branch — of a tree
  2. cold — not warm
  3. patient — calm and waiting
  4. hide — animal skin
  5. branch — of a bank
  6. perch — for a bird
  7. vault — a safe
  8. plane — an aircraft
  9. cold — the Cold War
  10. perch — for a bird
  11. hide — to keep secret
  12. land — to come down
  13. patient — a sick person
  14. land — ground
  15. vault — an arched ceiling
  16. vault — in gymnastics
  17. cold — an illness
  18. perch — the fish
  19. land — a country
  20. plane — in geometry
  21. plane — a tool
  22. patient — a sick person
  23. branch — a division
  24. hide — to keep secret

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