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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 seem to be developing a ________________.
  2. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  3. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  4. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  5. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  6. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  7. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  8. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  9. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  10. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  11. That was ________________ to happen.
  12. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  13. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  14. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  15. Don't do anything ________________.
  16. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  17. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  18. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  19. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  20. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  21. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  22. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  23. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  24. He took the fish out of the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rash — on the skin
  2. net — in sport
  3. bound — tied together
  4. branch — a division
  5. march — the month
  6. wind — moving air
  7. branch — of a bank
  8. branch — of a tree
  9. wind — moving air
  10. patient — a sick person
  11. bound — certain
  12. rash — a series
  13. patient — a sick person
  14. net — after costs
  15. rash — hasty
  16. wind — to turn a key
  17. bound — obliged
  18. march — music
  19. squash — the sport
  20. march — the month
  21. squash — the vegetable
  22. squash — to crush
  23. patient — calm and waiting
  24. net — for catching

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