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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: patient · branch · tube · ground · rock · spring · face · race

  1. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  2. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  3. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  4. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  5. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  6. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  7. There's no middle ________________.
  8. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  9. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  10. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  11. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  12. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  13. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  14. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  15. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  16. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  17. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  18. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  19. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  20. I'll be taking the ________________.
  21. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  22. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  23. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  24. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — of water
  2. branch — a division
  3. face — to point toward
  4. race — a contest
  5. face — to confront
  6. rock — music
  7. ground — a position
  8. ground — the earth
  9. ground — crushed
  10. patient — a sick person
  11. spring — the season
  12. branch — of a tree
  13. branch — of a bank
  14. patient — a sick person
  15. race — the arms race
  16. rock — to move gently
  17. patient — calm and waiting
  18. tube — a container
  19. rock — a stone
  20. tube — the underground
  21. tube — in a tire
  22. spring — a coil
  23. face — part of the head
  24. race — humankind

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