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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 potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  2. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  3. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  4. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  5. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  6. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  7. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  8. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  9. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  10. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  11. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  12. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  13. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  14. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  15. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  16. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  17. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  18. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  19. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  20. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  21. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  22. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  23. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  24. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.

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

Answer key

  1. chip — to eat
  2. pound — a weight
  3. spring — of water
  4. field — farmland
  5. branch — of a bank
  6. patient — a sick person
  7. mouse — the animal
  8. field — a subject
  9. mouse — the animal
  10. bank — of a river
  11. bank — for money
  12. field — for sport
  13. pound — to hit hard
  14. branch — of a tree
  15. patient — calm and waiting
  16. branch — a division
  17. spring — the season
  18. mouse — for a computer
  19. chip — in a computer
  20. pound — for dogs
  21. bank — for money
  22. patient — a sick person
  23. spring — a coil
  24. chip — for betting

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