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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 116 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. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  2. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  3. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  4. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  5. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  6. The water is too ________________.
  7. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  8. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  9. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  10. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  11. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  12. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  13. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  14. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  15. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  16. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  17. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  18. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  19. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  20. Did you ________________ the meat?
  21. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  22. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  23. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  24. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — the Cold War
  2. bear — to put up with
  3. patient — a sick person
  4. bank — for money
  5. drill — a practice
  6. cold — not warm
  7. bear — the animal
  8. drill — army training
  9. fork — in a road
  10. season — of the year
  11. season — in sport
  12. file — a tool
  13. cold — an illness
  14. fork — to eat with
  15. fork — a garden tool
  16. file — a line of people
  17. patient — a sick person
  18. bear — the animal
  19. patient — calm and waiting
  20. season — to add flavour
  21. bank — for money
  22. file — a document
  23. drill — the tool
  24. bank — of a river

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