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

Word bank: branch · patient · chip · bay · tube · cell · fine · content

  1. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  2. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  3. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  4. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  5. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  6. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  7. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  8. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  9. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  10. He was locked up in a ________________.
  11. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  12. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  13. I'll be taking the ________________.
  14. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  15. My mare is ________________ in color.
  16. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  17. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  18. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  19. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  20. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  21. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  22. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  23. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  24. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.

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

Answer key

  1. branch — a division
  2. fine — all right
  3. cell — a phone
  4. fine — high quality
  5. content — happy
  6. tube — a container
  7. bay — to keep at bay
  8. fine — a penalty
  9. chip — to eat
  10. cell — in a prison
  11. content — videos and posts
  12. patient — calm and waiting
  13. tube — the underground
  14. tube — in a tire
  15. bay — a horse colour
  16. bay — a part of the sea
  17. branch — of a tree
  18. cell — in biology
  19. chip — in a computer
  20. chip — for betting
  21. branch — of a bank
  22. content — the amount
  23. patient — a sick person
  24. 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