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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. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  2. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  3. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  4. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  5. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  6. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  7. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  8. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  9. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  10. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  11. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  12. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  13. The water is too ________________.
  14. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  15. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  16. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  17. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  18. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  19. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  20. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  21. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  22. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  23. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  24. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.

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

Answer key

  1. branch — a division
  2. drill — the tool
  3. stem — a stem cell
  4. chest — of your body
  5. chest — of your body
  6. patient — a sick person
  7. branch — of a tree
  8. pitch — a sports field
  9. lean — to rest against
  10. chest — a box
  11. drill — a practice
  12. stem — of a plant
  13. cold — not warm
  14. stem — to come from
  15. branch — of a bank
  16. drill — army training
  17. cold — the Cold War
  18. patient — a sick person
  19. patient — calm and waiting
  20. lean — to bend
  21. pitch — completely
  22. lean — thin
  23. pitch — a sales talk
  24. cold — an illness

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