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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 · scale · bank · cap · last · row · bulb

  1. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  2. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  3. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  4. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  5. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  6. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  7. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  8. False peace will not ________________.
  9. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  10. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  11. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  12. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  13. The light ________________ burned out.
  14. I've got to change the light ________________.
  15. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  16. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  17. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  18. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  19. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  20. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  21. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  22. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  23. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  24. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!

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

Answer key

  1. bulb — of a plant
  2. cap — a lid
  3. branch — a division
  4. last — finally
  5. patient — calm and waiting
  6. cap — of ice
  7. cap — a hat
  8. last — to go on
  9. scale — in music
  10. branch — of a tree
  11. scale — for weighing
  12. branch — of a bank
  13. bulb — for light
  14. bulb — for light
  15. row — a quarrel
  16. bank — for money
  17. patient — a sick person
  18. patient — a sick person
  19. row — a line
  20. bank — for money
  21. row — to paddle
  22. scale — size or range
  23. bank — of a river
  24. last — final

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