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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. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  2. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  3. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  4. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  5. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  6. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  7. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  8. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  9. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  10. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  11. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  12. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  13. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  14. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  15. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  16. Did you ________________ the meat?
  17. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  18. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  19. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  20. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  21. The water is too ________________.
  22. This piece is in a major ________________.
  23. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  24. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.

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

Answer key

  1. pit — a hole
  2. key — the most important part
  3. pit — a fruit stone
  4. present — there
  5. patient — a sick person
  6. patient — calm and waiting
  7. shower — rain
  8. key — for a lock
  9. present — the time now
  10. branch — of a bank
  11. branch — of a tree
  12. season — of the year
  13. shower — a meteor shower
  14. pit — in a race
  15. cold — an illness
  16. season — to add flavour
  17. season — in sport
  18. present — a gift
  19. branch — a division
  20. patient — a sick person
  21. cold — not warm
  22. key — in music
  23. shower — to wash
  24. cold — the Cold War

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