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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 assure you, everything's ________________.
  2. Did you ________________ the meat?
  3. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  4. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  5. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  6. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  7. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  8. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  9. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  10. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  11. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  12. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  13. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  14. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  15. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  16. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  17. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  18. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  19. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  20. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  21. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  22. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  23. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  24. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.

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

Answer key

  1. fine — all right
  2. season — to add flavour
  3. patient — a sick person
  4. branch — a division
  5. season — in sport
  6. board — a flat piece
  7. fine — a penalty
  8. wind — moving air
  9. cap — of ice
  10. wind — moving air
  11. branch — of a bank
  12. board — a committee
  13. board — to get on
  14. wind — to turn a key
  15. season — of the year
  16. branch — of a tree
  17. fine — high quality
  18. stem — to come from
  19. patient — a sick person
  20. stem — a stem cell
  21. cap — a lid
  22. stem — of a plant
  23. cap — a hat
  24. patient — calm and waiting

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