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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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468
Word bank
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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. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  2. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  3. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  4. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  5. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  6. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  7. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  8. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  9. The water is too ________________.
  10. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  11. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  12. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  13. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  14. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  15. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  16. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  17. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  18. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  19. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  20. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  21. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  22. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  23. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  24. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.

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

Answer key

  1. march — the month
  2. rest — a break
  3. march — the month
  4. cold — an illness
  5. bear — to put up with
  6. bear — the animal
  7. branch — of a bank
  8. wind — moving air
  9. cold — not warm
  10. branch — a division
  11. wind — to turn a key
  12. perch — the fish
  13. patient — a sick person
  14. rest — what's left
  15. branch — of a tree
  16. perch — for a bird
  17. cold — the Cold War
  18. bear — the animal
  19. wind — moving air
  20. patient — calm and waiting
  21. rest — what's left
  22. perch — for a bird
  23. march — music
  24. patient — a sick person

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