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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. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  2. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  3. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  4. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  5. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  6. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  7. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  8. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  9. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  10. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  11. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  12. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  13. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  14. David sat on the ________________.
  15. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  16. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  17. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  18. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  19. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  20. What do you think of the new ________________?
  21. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  22. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  23. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  24. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. safe — a strongbox
  2. branch — of a bank
  3. branch — of a tree
  4. safe — out of danger
  5. swing — music
  6. branch — a division
  7. mine — an explosive
  8. spring — a coil
  9. cabinet — a cupboard
  10. patient — a sick person
  11. degree — an amount
  12. swing — in golf
  13. spring — the season
  14. swing — to play on
  15. mine — for digging
  16. patient — a sick person
  17. patient — calm and waiting
  18. safe — out of danger
  19. cabinet — ministers
  20. cabinet — ministers
  21. mine — belonging to me
  22. degree — temperature
  23. degree — from a university
  24. spring — of water

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