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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 116 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. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  2. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  3. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  4. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  5. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  6. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  7. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  8. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  9. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  10. He was locked up in a ________________.
  11. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  12. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  13. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  14. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  15. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  16. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  17. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  18. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  19. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  20. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  21. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  22. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  23. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  24. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — a coil
  2. track — a song
  3. track — a path
  4. cell — a phone
  5. pass — a permit
  6. patient — calm and waiting
  7. pass — to succeed
  8. cell — in biology
  9. branch — of a bank
  10. cell — in a prison
  11. patient — a sick person
  12. fall — to drop
  13. track — to keep track
  14. field — for sport
  15. branch — a division
  16. patient — a sick person
  17. fall — the season
  18. branch — of a tree
  19. fall — to drop
  20. pass — to spend time
  21. spring — the season
  22. field — a subject
  23. field — farmland
  24. spring — of water

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