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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 116 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. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  2. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  3. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  4. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  5. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  6. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  7. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  8. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  9. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  10. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  11. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  12. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  13. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  14. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  15. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  16. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  17. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  18. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  19. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  20. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  21. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  22. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  23. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  24. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.

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

Answer key

  1. hide — animal skin
  2. branch — of a bank
  3. scale — for weighing
  4. pit — a fruit stone
  5. field — farmland
  6. patient — calm and waiting
  7. straw — dry grass
  8. pit — in a race
  9. file — a line of people
  10. branch — a division
  11. hide — to keep secret
  12. branch — of a tree
  13. scale — size or range
  14. file — a document
  15. pit — a hole
  16. patient — a sick person
  17. straw — to clutch at straws
  18. hide — to keep secret
  19. patient — a sick person
  20. field — for sport
  21. field — a subject
  22. scale — in music
  23. file — a tool
  24. straw — a straw man

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