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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 120 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. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  2. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  3. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  4. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  5. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  6. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  7. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  8. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  9. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  10. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  11. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  12. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  13. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  14. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  15. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  16. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  17. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  18. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  19. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  20. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  21. The water is too ________________.
  22. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  23. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  24. We had a fire ________________ at school today.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — the Cold War
  2. wake — before a funeral
  3. net — after costs
  4. patient — calm and waiting
  5. net — in sport
  6. branch — a division
  7. branch — of a bank
  8. fork — in a road
  9. drill — army training
  10. wake — to stop sleeping
  11. patient — a sick person
  12. patient — a sick person
  13. wake — a trail
  14. drill — the tool
  15. mark — to pay attention
  16. fork — to eat with
  17. cold — an illness
  18. mark — a grade
  19. net — for catching
  20. fork — a garden tool
  21. cold — not warm
  22. branch — of a tree
  23. mark — a trace
  24. drill — a practice

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