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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. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  2. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  3. Did you ________________ the meat?
  4. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  5. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  6. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  7. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  8. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  9. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  10. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  11. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  12. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  13. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  14. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  15. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  16. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  17. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  18. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  19. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  20. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  21. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  22. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  23. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  24. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — a coil
  2. branch — a division
  3. season — to add flavour
  4. fork — a garden tool
  5. bank — of a river
  6. spring — of water
  7. bank — for money
  8. patient — calm and waiting
  9. wake — before a funeral
  10. file — a document
  11. season — of the year
  12. bank — for money
  13. fork — in a road
  14. branch — of a tree
  15. patient — a sick person
  16. season — in sport
  17. file — a tool
  18. branch — of a bank
  19. wake — to stop sleeping
  20. fork — to eat with
  21. file — a line of people
  22. spring — the season
  23. patient — a sick person
  24. wake — a trail

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