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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 muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  2. The water is too ________________.
  3. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  4. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  5. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  6. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  7. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  8. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  9. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  10. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  11. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  12. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  13. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  14. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  15. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  16. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  17. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  18. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  19. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  20. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  21. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  22. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  23. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  24. Have you met the new head ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. track — a path
  2. cold — not warm
  3. branch — of a bank
  4. hand — in cards
  5. pit — a fruit stone
  6. branch — a division
  7. coach — a trainer
  8. cold — an illness
  9. track — to keep track
  10. coach — pulled by horses
  11. firm — decided
  12. hand — part of the body
  13. track — a song
  14. firm — steady
  15. patient — a sick person
  16. hand — help
  17. firm — a company
  18. pit — a hole
  19. patient — a sick person
  20. pit — in a race
  21. branch — of a tree
  22. patient — calm and waiting
  23. cold — the Cold War
  24. coach — a trainer

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