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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. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  2. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  3. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  4. The King held a masked ________________.
  5. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  6. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  7. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  8. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  9. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  10. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  11. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  12. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  13. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  14. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  15. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  16. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  17. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  18. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  19. He was locked up in a ________________.
  20. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  21. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  22. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  23. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  24. The kitten curled into a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bank — for money
  2. wind — to turn a key
  3. field — for sport
  4. ball — a dance
  5. patient — a sick person
  6. branch — a division
  7. wind — moving air
  8. branch — of a tree
  9. ball — a great time
  10. perch — the fish
  11. wind — moving air
  12. patient — calm and waiting
  13. patient — a sick person
  14. branch — of a bank
  15. perch — for a bird
  16. field — a subject
  17. perch — for a bird
  18. bank — of a river
  19. cell — in a prison
  20. bank — for money
  21. cell — in biology
  22. cell — a phone
  23. field — farmland
  24. ball — a round shape

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