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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 ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  2. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  3. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  4. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  5. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  6. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  7. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  8. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  9. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  10. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  11. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  12. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  13. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  14. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  15. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  16. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  17. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  18. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  19. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  20. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  21. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  22. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  23. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  24. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.

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

Answer key

  1. patient — a sick person
  2. patient — calm and waiting
  3. spring — of water
  4. board — a committee
  5. board — to get on
  6. branch — of a tree
  7. track — to keep track
  8. scale — in music
  9. scale — for weighing
  10. pit — a hole
  11. pit — in a race
  12. clip — for paper
  13. board — a flat piece
  14. track — a song
  15. track — a path
  16. pit — a fruit stone
  17. spring — a coil
  18. branch — a division
  19. spring — the season
  20. branch — of a bank
  21. patient — a sick person
  22. clip — a video
  23. scale — size or range
  24. clip — to cut

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