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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 120 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: ruler · cold · branch · court · patient · cap · track · pound

  1. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  2. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  3. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  4. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  5. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  6. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  7. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  8. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  9. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  10. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  11. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  12. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  13. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  14. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  15. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  16. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  17. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  18. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  19. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  20. The water is too ________________.
  21. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  22. The ball is in your ________________.
  23. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  24. The people resisted their cruel ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. track — to keep track
  2. track — a song
  3. court — of law
  4. cap — of ice
  5. branch — a division
  6. ruler — for measuring
  7. pound — for dogs
  8. cap — a hat
  9. patient — a sick person
  10. track — a path
  11. pound — to hit hard
  12. patient — calm and waiting
  13. ruler — for measuring
  14. branch — of a bank
  15. pound — a weight
  16. branch — of a tree
  17. cold — the Cold War
  18. patient — a sick person
  19. cold — an illness
  20. cold — not warm
  21. cap — a lid
  22. court — for sport
  23. court — of a king
  24. ruler — a monarch

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