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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: cold · pitcher · toast · file · patient · bulb · bore · branch

  1. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  2. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  3. The light ________________ burned out.
  4. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  5. He is an ace ________________.
  6. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  7. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  8. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  9. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  10. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  11. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  12. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  13. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  14. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  15. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  16. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  17. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  18. The water is too ________________.
  19. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  20. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  21. I've got to change the light ________________.
  22. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  23. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  24. Biology is a ________________ of science.

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

Answer key

  1. bulb — of a plant
  2. toast — the most admired
  3. bulb — for light
  4. toast — a drink to someone
  5. pitcher — in baseball
  6. patient — a sick person
  7. patient — a sick person
  8. bore — to tire
  9. file — a line of people
  10. patient — calm and waiting
  11. bore — gave birth
  12. cold — the Cold War
  13. pitcher — a jug
  14. toast — bread
  15. file — a document
  16. branch — of a tree
  17. file — a tool
  18. cold — not warm
  19. cold — an illness
  20. pitcher — a jug
  21. bulb — for light
  22. branch — of a bank
  23. bore — to drill
  24. branch — a division

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