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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. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  2. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  3. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  4. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  5. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  6. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  7. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  8. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  9. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  10. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  11. There's no middle ________________.
  12. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  13. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  14. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  15. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  16. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  17. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  18. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  19. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  20. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  21. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  22. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  23. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  24. The train ________________ at six o'clock.

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

Answer key

  1. branch — of a bank
  2. ground — the earth
  3. wound — an injury
  4. kid — to tease
  5. patient — calm and waiting
  6. branch — a division
  7. spring — of water
  8. wound — past of 'wind'
  9. leaves — lets stay
  10. spring — the season
  11. ground — a position
  12. patient — a sick person
  13. wound — an injury
  14. leaves — of a tree
  15. fan — a supporter
  16. spring — a coil
  17. branch — of a tree
  18. fan — a supporter
  19. ground — crushed
  20. kid — child
  21. patient — a sick person
  22. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  23. fan — to cool the air
  24. leaves — to go away

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