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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. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  2. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  3. Have you met the new head ________________?
  4. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  5. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  6. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  7. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  8. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  9. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  10. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  11. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  12. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  13. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  14. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  15. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  16. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  17. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  18. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  19. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  20. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  21. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  22. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  23. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  24. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.

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

Answer key

  1. patient — a sick person
  2. coach — pulled by horses
  3. coach — a trainer
  4. branch — a division
  5. dip — to dunk
  6. pit — a hole
  7. snap — to click
  8. wound — past of 'wind'
  9. branch — of a tree
  10. wound — an injury
  11. pitch — a sales talk
  12. pitch — a sports field
  13. branch — of a bank
  14. dip — to sink
  15. pitch — completely
  16. dip — a sauce
  17. patient — calm and waiting
  18. wound — an injury
  19. pit — a fruit stone
  20. snap — to snap out of it
  21. patient — a sick person
  22. snap — to speak sharply
  23. coach — a trainer
  24. pit — in a race

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