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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. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  2. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  3. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  4. The water is too ________________.
  5. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  6. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  7. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  8. David sat on the ________________.
  9. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  10. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  11. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  12. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  13. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  14. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  15. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  16. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  17. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  18. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  19. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  20. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  21. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  22. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  23. I'll be taking the ________________.
  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. bat — in an idiom
  2. patient — a sick person
  3. patient — calm and waiting
  4. cold — not warm
  5. wind — moving air
  6. branch — of a bank
  7. wind — to turn a key
  8. swing — to play on
  9. swing — music
  10. branch — a division
  11. fine — all right
  12. fine — a penalty
  13. wind — moving air
  14. tube — in a tire
  15. branch — of a tree
  16. swing — in golf
  17. bat — for baseball
  18. patient — a sick person
  19. bat — the animal
  20. cold — the Cold War
  21. fine — high quality
  22. tube — a container
  23. tube — the underground
  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