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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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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 · bat · spring · chair · pit · cell · club · patient

  1. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  2. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  3. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  4. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  5. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  6. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  7. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  8. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  9. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  10. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  11. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  12. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  13. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  14. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  15. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  16. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  17. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  18. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  19. He was locked up in a ________________.
  20. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  21. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  22. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  23. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  24. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pit — in a race
  2. chair — to sit on
  3. patient — calm and waiting
  4. cell — a phone
  5. club — for dancing
  6. branch — of a bank
  7. club — a group
  8. branch — of a tree
  9. chair — a professorship
  10. patient — a sick person
  11. bat — the animal
  12. bat — for baseball
  13. spring — the season
  14. branch — a division
  15. spring — of water
  16. pit — a hole
  17. cell — in biology
  18. patient — a sick person
  19. cell — in a prison
  20. chair — a leader
  21. spring — a coil
  22. bat — in an idiom
  23. pit — a fruit stone
  24. club — for golf

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