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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. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  2. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  3. That was ________________ to happen.
  4. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  5. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  6. She's very handy with a ________________.
  7. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  8. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  9. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  10. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  11. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  12. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  13. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  14. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  15. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  16. The water is too ________________.
  17. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  18. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  19. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  20. The ________________ market has crashed.
  21. He works in a ________________ mill.
  22. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  23. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  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. stock — a soup base
  2. bound — tied together
  3. bound — certain
  4. branch — a division
  5. patient — a sick person
  6. saw — the tool
  7. bear — to put up with
  8. band — a ring
  9. cold — an illness
  10. band — a music group
  11. bear — the animal
  12. branch — of a tree
  13. patient — a sick person
  14. band — a rubber band
  15. bear — the animal
  16. cold — not warm
  17. saw — past of 'see'
  18. stock — goods
  19. cold — the Cold War
  20. stock — shares
  21. saw — the tool
  22. bound — obliged
  23. patient — calm and waiting
  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