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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: season · chest · lash · patient · net · branch · lie · drill

  1. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  2. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  3. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  4. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  5. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  6. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  7. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  8. Did you ________________ the meat?
  9. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  10. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  11. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  12. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  13. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  14. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  15. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  16. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  17. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  18. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  19. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  20. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  21. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  22. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  23. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  24. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. chest — of your body
  2. drill — a practice
  3. net — after costs
  4. patient — a sick person
  5. lash — a whip stroke
  6. chest — of your body
  7. branch — of a tree
  8. season — to add flavour
  9. lash — to lash out
  10. lie — to recline
  11. chest — a box
  12. net — for catching
  13. drill — army training
  14. lie — an untruth
  15. patient — calm and waiting
  16. branch — of a bank
  17. season — of the year
  18. drill — the tool
  19. lash — an eyelash
  20. net — in sport
  21. branch — a division
  22. lie — an untruth
  23. season — in sport
  24. patient — a sick person

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