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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. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  3. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  4. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  5. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  6. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  7. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  8. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  9. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  10. I've got to change the light ________________.
  11. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  12. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  13. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  14. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  15. The light ________________ burned out.
  16. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  17. The water is too ________________.
  18. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  19. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  20. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  21. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  22. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  23. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  24. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. branch — a division
  2. patient — a sick person
  3. field — for sport
  4. capital — a city
  5. capital — a big letter
  6. chair — to sit on
  7. branch — of a tree
  8. bulb — of a plant
  9. cold — the Cold War
  10. bulb — for light
  11. field — farmland
  12. capital — money
  13. branch — of a bank
  14. foot — part of the body
  15. bulb — for light
  16. field — a subject
  17. cold — not warm
  18. cold — an illness
  19. patient — calm and waiting
  20. foot — a measure
  21. chair — a leader
  22. foot — the bottom
  23. chair — a professorship
  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