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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.

Make a worksheet

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: date · branch · patient · land · ball · kick · tube · cold

  1. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  2. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  3. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  4. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  5. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  6. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  7. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  8. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  9. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  10. The King held a masked ________________.
  11. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  12. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  13. When are we going to ________________?
  14. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  15. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  16. The water is too ________________.
  17. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  18. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  19. I'll be taking the ________________.
  20. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  21. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  22. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  23. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  24. Have you settled on a ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. kick — in football
  2. date — on the calendar
  3. cold — the Cold War
  4. ball — a round shape
  5. land — a country
  6. cold — an illness
  7. branch — of a tree
  8. patient — a sick person
  9. tube — in a tire
  10. ball — a dance
  11. patient — a sick person
  12. date — the fruit
  13. land — to come down
  14. branch — a division
  15. land — ground
  16. cold — not warm
  17. kick — with a leg
  18. kick — a thrill
  19. tube — the underground
  20. tube — a container
  21. ball — a great time
  22. branch — of a bank
  23. patient — calm and waiting
  24. date — on the calendar

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