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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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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 · wind · branch · rule · kid · temple

  1. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  2. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  3. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  4. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  5. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  6. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  7. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  8. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  9. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  10. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  11. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  12. When was this ________________ built?
  13. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  14. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  15. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  16. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  17. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  18. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — child
  2. wind — to turn a key
  3. temple — side of the head
  4. kid — to tease
  5. rule — to rule out
  6. wind — moving air
  7. patient — a sick person
  8. patient — calm and waiting
  9. temple — a place of worship
  10. rule — a law
  11. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  12. temple — a place of worship
  13. branch — of a bank
  14. patient — a sick person
  15. branch — a division
  16. wind — moving air
  17. rule — government
  18. branch — of a tree

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