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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 120 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 ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  2. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  3. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  4. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  5. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  6. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  7. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  8. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  9. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  10. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  11. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  12. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  13. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  14. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  15. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  16. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  17. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  18. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  19. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  20. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  21. There's no middle ________________.
  22. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  23. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  24. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.

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

Answer key

  1. ground — the earth
  2. club — for dancing
  3. rest — a break
  4. patient — calm and waiting
  5. patient — a sick person
  6. patient — a sick person
  7. chest — of your body
  8. march — music
  9. branch — of a tree
  10. ground — crushed
  11. branch — of a bank
  12. chest — a box
  13. rest — what's left
  14. board — to get on
  15. club — for golf
  16. march — the month
  17. board — a committee
  18. club — a group
  19. board — a flat piece
  20. chest — of your body
  21. ground — a position
  22. branch — a division
  23. march — the month
  24. rest — what's left

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