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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: court · branch · patient · lash · deal · cold · bank · suit

  1. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  2. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  3. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  4. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  5. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  6. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  7. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  8. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  9. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  10. The ball is in your ________________.
  11. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  12. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  13. The water is too ________________.
  14. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  15. When will it ________________ you to start?
  16. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  17. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  18. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  19. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  20. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  21. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  22. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  23. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  24. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.

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

Answer key

  1. deal — an agreement
  2. bank — for money
  3. lash — to lash out
  4. patient — calm and waiting
  5. deal — to handle
  6. lash — a whip stroke
  7. branch — a division
  8. cold — an illness
  9. patient — a sick person
  10. court — for sport
  11. branch — of a tree
  12. bank — for money
  13. cold — not warm
  14. suit — in cards
  15. suit — to fit
  16. court — of a king
  17. lash — an eyelash
  18. suit — clothes
  19. deal — a big deal
  20. branch — of a bank
  21. court — of law
  22. bank — of a river
  23. patient — a sick person
  24. cold — the Cold War

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