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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.

Words on the sheet
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. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  2. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  3. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  4. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  5. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  6. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  7. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  8. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  9. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  10. The water is too ________________.
  11. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  12. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  13. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  14. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  15. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  16. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  17. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  18. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  19. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  20. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  21. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  22. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  23. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  24. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — an explosive
  2. branch — of a bank
  3. racket — for tennis
  4. patient — calm and waiting
  5. mine — belonging to me
  6. fork — to eat with
  7. trunk — of a car
  8. mine — for digging
  9. branch — of a tree
  10. cold — not warm
  11. pound — for dogs
  12. cold — the Cold War
  13. branch — a division
  14. patient — a sick person
  15. pound — to hit hard
  16. racket — for tennis
  17. racket — a loud noise
  18. fork — a garden tool
  19. pound — a weight
  20. trunk — of an elephant
  21. patient — a sick person
  22. fork — in a road
  23. trunk — of a tree
  24. cold — an illness

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