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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: hide · pitch · patient · mine · last · fan · wake · branch

  1. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  2. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  3. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  4. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  5. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  6. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  7. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  8. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  9. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  10. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  11. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  12. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  13. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  14. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  15. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  16. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  17. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  18. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  19. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  20. False peace will not ________________.
  21. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  22. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  23. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  24. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.

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

Answer key

  1. fan — a supporter
  2. pitch — a sales talk
  3. mine — for digging
  4. mine — an explosive
  5. branch — of a tree
  6. wake — a trail
  7. last — final
  8. last — finally
  9. pitch — completely
  10. wake — before a funeral
  11. branch — of a bank
  12. hide — to keep secret
  13. patient — calm and waiting
  14. fan — to cool the air
  15. fan — a supporter
  16. patient — a sick person
  17. branch — a division
  18. mine — belonging to me
  19. hide — to keep secret
  20. last — to go on
  21. pitch — a sports field
  22. wake — to stop sleeping
  23. patient — a sick person
  24. hide — animal skin

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