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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 information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  2. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  3. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  4. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  5. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  6. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  7. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  8. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  9. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  10. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  11. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  12. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  13. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  14. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  15. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  16. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  17. Did you ________________ the meat?
  18. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  19. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  20. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  21. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  22. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  23. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  24. The flowers bloom in the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. file — a document
  2. bat — in an idiom
  3. file — a line of people
  4. bat — the animal
  5. mine — belonging to me
  6. mine — an explosive
  7. bat — for baseball
  8. patient — a sick person
  9. season — of the year
  10. shower — a meteor shower
  11. branch — of a tree
  12. spring — of water
  13. branch — a division
  14. branch — of a bank
  15. file — a tool
  16. shower — rain
  17. season — to add flavour
  18. mine — for digging
  19. patient — calm and waiting
  20. season — in sport
  21. shower — to wash
  22. patient — a sick person
  23. spring — a coil
  24. spring — the season

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