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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 116 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. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  2. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  3. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  4. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  5. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  6. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  7. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  8. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  9. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  10. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  11. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  12. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  13. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  14. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  15. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  16. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  17. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  18. David sat on the ________________.
  19. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  20. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  21. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  22. There's no middle ________________.
  23. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  24. You can't go backstage without a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rock — to move gently
  2. branch — a division
  3. ground — crushed
  4. branch — of a tree
  5. swing — in golf
  6. file — a document
  7. rock — a stone
  8. patient — a sick person
  9. patient — a sick person
  10. ground — the earth
  11. swing — music
  12. file — a line of people
  13. spring — the season
  14. spring — a coil
  15. spring — of water
  16. patient — calm and waiting
  17. rock — music
  18. swing — to play on
  19. file — a tool
  20. branch — of a bank
  21. pass — to succeed
  22. ground — a position
  23. pass — to spend time
  24. pass — a permit

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