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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 farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  2. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  3. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  4. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  5. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  6. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  7. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  8. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  9. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  10. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  11. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  12. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  13. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  14. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  15. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  16. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  17. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  18. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  19. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  20. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  21. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  22. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  23. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  24. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.

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

Answer key

  1. patient — calm and waiting
  2. rock — a stone
  3. rock — music
  4. branch — of a bank
  5. present — there
  6. present — a gift
  7. craft — a skill
  8. craft — a handicraft
  9. race — the arms race
  10. bear — to put up with
  11. race — humankind
  12. craft — boats
  13. patient — a sick person
  14. clip — for paper
  15. rock — to move gently
  16. bear — the animal
  17. clip — to cut
  18. branch — of a tree
  19. branch — a division
  20. patient — a sick person
  21. present — the time now
  22. clip — a video
  23. bear — the animal
  24. race — a contest

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