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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. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  2. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  3. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  4. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  5. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  6. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  7. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  8. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  9. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  10. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  11. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  12. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  13. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  14. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  15. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  16. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  17. When are we going to ________________?
  18. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  19. Have you settled on a ________________?
  20. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  21. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  22. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  23. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  24. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.

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

Answer key

  1. land — ground
  2. patient — a sick person
  3. wake — before a funeral
  4. cue — for pool
  5. cue — a signal
  6. date — on the calendar
  7. tear — from crying
  8. land — a country
  9. patient — calm and waiting
  10. branch — of a bank
  11. date — the fruit
  12. tear — from crying
  13. cue — a hint
  14. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  15. branch — a division
  16. wake — a trail
  17. land — to come down
  18. patient — a sick person
  19. date — on the calendar
  20. wake — to stop sleeping
  21. branch — of a tree
  22. tear — to rip
  23. kid — child
  24. kid — to tease

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