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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: content · branch · object · snap · patient · spring · cold · swing

  1. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  2. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  3. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  4. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  5. The water is too ________________.
  6. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  7. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  8. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  9. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  10. David sat on the ________________.
  11. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  12. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  13. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  14. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  15. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  16. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  17. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  18. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  19. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  20. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  21. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  22. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  23. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  24. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. object — a thing
  2. swing — music
  3. branch — a division
  4. cold — the Cold War
  5. cold — not warm
  6. snap — to click
  7. swing — in golf
  8. snap — to speak sharply
  9. spring — the season
  10. swing — to play on
  11. content — happy
  12. patient — a sick person
  13. content — videos and posts
  14. branch — of a bank
  15. spring — of water
  16. content — the amount
  17. object — an aim
  18. branch — of a tree
  19. spring — a coil
  20. snap — to snap out of it
  21. patient — calm and waiting
  22. cold — an illness
  23. object — to protest
  24. patient — a sick person

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