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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 116 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: patient · swing · bowl · pound · rule · branch · bulb · cold

  1. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  2. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  3. The water is too ________________.
  4. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  5. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  6. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  7. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  8. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  9. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  10. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  11. I've got to change the light ________________.
  12. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  13. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  14. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  15. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  16. The light ________________ burned out.
  17. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  18. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  19. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  20. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  21. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  22. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  23. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  24. David sat on the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — the Cold War
  2. pound — for dogs
  3. cold — not warm
  4. patient — calm and waiting
  5. rule — to rule out
  6. bulb — of a plant
  7. bowl — to roll
  8. swing — music
  9. pound — a weight
  10. rule — a law
  11. bulb — for light
  12. cold — an illness
  13. swing — in golf
  14. branch — of a bank
  15. patient — a sick person
  16. bulb — for light
  17. pound — to hit hard
  18. rule — government
  19. branch — a division
  20. patient — a sick person
  21. branch — of a tree
  22. bowl — a dish
  23. bowl — a football final
  24. swing — to play on

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