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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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Word bank
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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: branch · wound · cold · date · patient · net

  1. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  2. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  3. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  4. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  5. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  6. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  7. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  8. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  9. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  10. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  11. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  12. The water is too ________________.
  13. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  14. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  15. Have you settled on a ________________?
  16. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  17. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  18. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. branch — of a bank
  2. cold — the Cold War
  3. date — the fruit
  4. net — after costs
  5. date — on the calendar
  6. patient — a sick person
  7. branch — of a tree
  8. wound — past of 'wind'
  9. wound — an injury
  10. net — in sport
  11. patient — calm and waiting
  12. cold — not warm
  13. wound — an injury
  14. net — for catching
  15. date — on the calendar
  16. cold — an illness
  17. branch — a division
  18. patient — a sick person

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