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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. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  2. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  3. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  4. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  5. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  6. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  7. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  8. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  9. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  10. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  11. I can't ________________ this cold.
  12. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  13. She's very handy with a ________________.
  14. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  15. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  16. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  17. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  18. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  19. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  20. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  21. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  22. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  23. He works in a ________________ mill.
  24. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.

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

Answer key

  1. content — happy
  2. branch — a division
  3. spring — a coil
  4. spring — of water
  5. saw — past of 'see'
  6. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  7. stand — on your feet
  8. kid — child
  9. branch — of a tree
  10. kid — to tease
  11. stand — to bear
  12. patient — a sick person
  13. saw — the tool
  14. content — videos and posts
  15. stand — for spectators
  16. staff — employees
  17. staff — a stick
  18. spring — the season
  19. patient — calm and waiting
  20. patient — a sick person
  21. staff — employees
  22. content — the amount
  23. saw — the tool
  24. branch — of a bank

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