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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: branch · bay · field · patient · present · content · pass · cold

  1. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  2. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  3. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  4. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  5. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  6. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  7. My mare is ________________ in color.
  8. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  9. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  10. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  11. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  12. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  13. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  14. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  15. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  16. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  17. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  18. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  19. The water is too ________________.
  20. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  21. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  22. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  23. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  24. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.

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

Answer key

  1. pass — a permit
  2. branch — of a bank
  3. patient — a sick person
  4. content — happy
  5. present — there
  6. bay — to keep at bay
  7. bay — a horse colour
  8. pass — to spend time
  9. field — farmland
  10. field — a subject
  11. bay — a part of the sea
  12. content — videos and posts
  13. patient — calm and waiting
  14. pass — to succeed
  15. branch — a division
  16. present — the time now
  17. present — a gift
  18. branch — of a tree
  19. cold — not warm
  20. field — for sport
  21. cold — an illness
  22. content — the amount
  23. patient — a sick person
  24. cold — the Cold War

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