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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. How do you ________________ your surname?
  3. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  4. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  5. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  6. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  7. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  8. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  9. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  10. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  11. False peace will not ________________.
  12. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  13. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  14. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  15. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  16. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  17. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  18. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  19. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  20. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  21. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  22. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  23. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  24. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.

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

Answer key

  1. branch — of a bank
  2. spell — letters
  3. patient — a sick person
  4. cue — a hint
  5. pound — for dogs
  6. cue — for pool
  7. row — a line
  8. patient — calm and waiting
  9. patient — a sick person
  10. pound — to hit hard
  11. last — to go on
  12. cue — a signal
  13. last — final
  14. branch — of a tree
  15. spell — a short time
  16. present — a gift
  17. row — a quarrel
  18. row — to paddle
  19. present — the time now
  20. spell — magic
  21. pound — a weight
  22. last — finally
  23. branch — a division
  24. present — there

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