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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. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  2. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  3. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  4. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  5. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  6. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  7. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  8. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  9. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  10. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  11. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  12. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  13. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  14. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  15. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  16. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  17. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  18. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  19. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  20. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  21. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  22. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  23. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  24. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.

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

Answer key

  1. toast — a drink to someone
  2. spring — the season
  3. patient — a sick person
  4. toast — bread
  5. spring — a coil
  6. bat — in an idiom
  7. bat — for baseball
  8. spring — of water
  9. mine — an explosive
  10. current — happening now
  11. branch — of a tree
  12. toast — the most admired
  13. patient — a sick person
  14. branch — of a bank
  15. patient — calm and waiting
  16. firm — decided
  17. firm — a company
  18. branch — a division
  19. firm — steady
  20. current — of water
  21. mine — belonging to me
  22. mine — for digging
  23. current — electric
  24. bat — the animal

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