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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: patient · cap · mark · branch · spring · pit · last · land

  1. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  2. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  3. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  4. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  5. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  6. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  7. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  8. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  9. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  10. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  11. False peace will not ________________.
  12. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  13. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  14. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  15. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  16. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  17. When are we going to ________________?
  18. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  19. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  20. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  21. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  22. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  23. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  24. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.

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

Answer key

  1. land — ground
  2. spring — of water
  3. patient — a sick person
  4. last — final
  5. pit — a fruit stone
  6. mark — to pay attention
  7. branch — a division
  8. cap — a hat
  9. pit — in a race
  10. cap — a lid
  11. last — to go on
  12. patient — a sick person
  13. last — finally
  14. pit — a hole
  15. land — a country
  16. cap — of ice
  17. land — to come down
  18. branch — of a tree
  19. mark — a grade
  20. spring — the season
  21. branch — of a bank
  22. patient — calm and waiting
  23. mark — a trace
  24. spring — a coil

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