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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. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  2. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  3. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  4. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  5. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  6. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  7. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  8. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  9. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  10. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  11. I can't ________________ this cold.
  12. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  13. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  14. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  15. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  16. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  17. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  18. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  19. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  20. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  21. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  22. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  23. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  24. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.

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

Answer key

  1. branch — of a tree
  2. capital — a city
  3. capital — a big letter
  4. hand — in cards
  5. patient — a sick person
  6. file — a tool
  7. hide — to keep secret
  8. hand — help
  9. file — a line of people
  10. file — a document
  11. stand — to bear
  12. hand — part of the body
  13. stand — for spectators
  14. branch — of a bank
  15. patient — calm and waiting
  16. stand — on your feet
  17. patient — a sick person
  18. degree — temperature
  19. branch — a division
  20. degree — an amount
  21. capital — money
  22. hide — animal skin
  23. hide — to keep secret
  24. degree — from a university

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