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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. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  2. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  3. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  4. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  5. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  6. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  7. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  8. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  9. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  10. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  11. Did you ________________ the meat?
  12. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  13. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  14. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  15. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  16. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  17. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  18. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  19. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  20. It's one o'clock ________________.
  21. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  22. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  23. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  24. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.

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

Answer key

  1. season — in sport
  2. sharp — clever
  3. cap — a lid
  4. bat — the animal
  5. branch — of a bank
  6. branch — of a tree
  7. branch — a division
  8. bat — for baseball
  9. ruler — a monarch
  10. drill — a practice
  11. season — to add flavour
  12. cap — a hat
  13. sharp — with an edge
  14. cap — of ice
  15. ruler — for measuring
  16. season — of the year
  17. ruler — for measuring
  18. bat — in an idiom
  19. drill — the tool
  20. sharp — exactly
  21. patient — a sick person
  22. patient — calm and waiting
  23. drill — army training
  24. patient — a sick person

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