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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: dip · swing · patient · branch · face · key · fall · cold

  1. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  2. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  3. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  4. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  5. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  6. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  7. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  8. David sat on the ________________.
  9. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  10. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  11. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  12. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  13. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  14. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  15. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  16. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  17. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  18. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  19. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  20. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  21. This piece is in a major ________________.
  22. The water is too ________________.
  23. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  24. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.

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

Answer key

  1. branch — of a bank
  2. cold — an illness
  3. swing — music
  4. fall — to drop
  5. dip — a sauce
  6. swing — in golf
  7. key — the most important part
  8. swing — to play on
  9. fall — to drop
  10. dip — to dunk
  11. branch — a division
  12. patient — calm and waiting
  13. cold — the Cold War
  14. branch — of a tree
  15. face — part of the head
  16. patient — a sick person
  17. face — to confront
  18. patient — a sick person
  19. key — for a lock
  20. fall — the season
  21. key — in music
  22. cold — not warm
  23. dip — to sink
  24. face — to point toward

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