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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 120 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 giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  3. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  4. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  5. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  6. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  7. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  8. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  9. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  10. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  11. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  12. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  13. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  14. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  15. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  16. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  17. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  18. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  19. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  20. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  21. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  22. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  23. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  24. He was blown up by a land ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. branch — of a bank
  2. calf — a young animal
  3. branch — of a tree
  4. spring — of water
  5. branch — a division
  6. spring — the season
  7. hand — in cards
  8. calf — a young animal
  9. hand — part of the body
  10. foot — part of the body
  11. foot — a measure
  12. calf — of the leg
  13. patient — calm and waiting
  14. capital — money
  15. mine — for digging
  16. patient — a sick person
  17. foot — the bottom
  18. capital — a city
  19. patient — a sick person
  20. capital — a big letter
  21. hand — help
  22. spring — a coil
  23. mine — belonging to me
  24. mine — an explosive

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