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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 · season · pitcher · last · stock · mouse · branch · wound

  1. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  2. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  3. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  4. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  5. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  6. False peace will not ________________.
  7. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  8. Did you ________________ the meat?
  9. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  10. He is an ace ________________.
  11. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  12. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  13. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  14. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  15. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  16. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  17. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  18. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  19. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  20. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  21. The ________________ market has crashed.
  22. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  23. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  24. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. season — in sport
  2. pitcher — a jug
  3. wound — an injury
  4. wound — past of 'wind'
  5. branch — of a tree
  6. last — to go on
  7. season — of the year
  8. season — to add flavour
  9. branch — of a bank
  10. pitcher — in baseball
  11. last — finally
  12. wound — an injury
  13. mouse — the animal
  14. patient — calm and waiting
  15. last — final
  16. patient — a sick person
  17. patient — a sick person
  18. stock — a soup base
  19. stock — goods
  20. pitcher — a jug
  21. stock — shares
  22. mouse — for a computer
  23. branch — a division
  24. mouse — the animal

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