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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: hand · cap · stand · last · date · branch · bulb · patient

  1. Have you settled on a ________________?
  2. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  3. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  4. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  5. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  6. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  7. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  8. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  9. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  10. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  11. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  12. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  13. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  14. I can't ________________ this cold.
  15. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  16. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  17. The light ________________ burned out.
  18. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  19. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  20. False peace will not ________________.
  21. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  22. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  23. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  24. I've got to change the light ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. date — on the calendar
  2. cap — a hat
  3. last — final
  4. branch — of a tree
  5. patient — a sick person
  6. date — the fruit
  7. cap — a lid
  8. stand — for spectators
  9. patient — calm and waiting
  10. bulb — of a plant
  11. branch — of a bank
  12. stand — on your feet
  13. hand — part of the body
  14. stand — to bear
  15. cap — of ice
  16. date — on the calendar
  17. bulb — for light
  18. last — finally
  19. hand — in cards
  20. last — to go on
  21. branch — a division
  22. patient — a sick person
  23. hand — help
  24. bulb — for light

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