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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. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  2. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  3. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  4. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  5. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  6. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  7. When are we going to ________________?
  8. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  9. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  10. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  11. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  12. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  13. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  14. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  15. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  16. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  17. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  18. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  19. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  20. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  21. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  22. This piece is in a major ________________.
  23. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  24. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?

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

Answer key

  1. branch — of a bank
  2. tear — from crying
  3. cap — of ice
  4. land — a country
  5. capital — money
  6. land — ground
  7. land — to come down
  8. branch — a division
  9. net — after costs
  10. tear — to rip
  11. capital — a big letter
  12. patient — calm and waiting
  13. capital — a city
  14. key — the most important part
  15. patient — a sick person
  16. cap — a hat
  17. cap — a lid
  18. branch — of a tree
  19. net — in sport
  20. net — for catching
  21. tear — from crying
  22. key — in music
  23. patient — a sick person
  24. key — for a lock

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