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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 · trunk · branch · shower · board · foot · cold · last

  1. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  2. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  3. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  4. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  5. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  6. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  7. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  8. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  9. False peace will not ________________.
  10. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  11. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  12. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  13. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  14. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  15. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  16. The water is too ________________.
  17. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  18. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  19. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  20. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  21. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  22. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  23. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  24. I've got the luggage in my ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. branch — of a bank
  2. last — finally
  3. cold — the Cold War
  4. patient — a sick person
  5. shower — to wash
  6. patient — calm and waiting
  7. shower — rain
  8. foot — part of the body
  9. last — to go on
  10. patient — a sick person
  11. board — to get on
  12. shower — a meteor shower
  13. trunk — of an elephant
  14. trunk — of a tree
  15. board — a flat piece
  16. cold — not warm
  17. cold — an illness
  18. last — final
  19. foot — the bottom
  20. board — a committee
  21. branch — of a tree
  22. foot — a measure
  23. branch — a division
  24. trunk — of a car

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