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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: cold · pitcher · patient · branch · cap · fine · tear · pound

  1. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  2. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  3. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  4. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  5. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  6. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  7. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  8. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  9. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  10. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  11. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  12. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  13. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  14. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  15. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  16. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  17. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  18. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  19. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  20. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  21. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  22. The water is too ________________.
  23. He is an ace ________________.
  24. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.

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

Answer key

  1. patient — a sick person
  2. cap — a lid
  3. branch — of a bank
  4. fine — high quality
  5. cold — the Cold War
  6. pitcher — a jug
  7. tear — from crying
  8. pound — to hit hard
  9. pitcher — a jug
  10. branch — a division
  11. fine — a penalty
  12. cap — of ice
  13. branch — of a tree
  14. cold — an illness
  15. tear — to rip
  16. tear — from crying
  17. cap — a hat
  18. fine — all right
  19. pound — a weight
  20. patient — calm and waiting
  21. patient — a sick person
  22. cold — not warm
  23. pitcher — in baseball
  24. pound — for dogs

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