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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 · track · board · cold · branch · court · nail · rest

  1. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  2. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  3. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  4. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  5. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  6. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  7. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  8. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  9. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  10. The water is too ________________.
  11. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  12. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  13. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  14. The ________________ went through the wall.
  15. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  16. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  17. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  18. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  19. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  20. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  21. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  22. The ball is in your ________________.
  23. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  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. board — to get on
  2. board — a committee
  3. rest — what's left
  4. patient — a sick person
  5. rest — what's left
  6. cold — an illness
  7. board — a flat piece
  8. branch — a division
  9. track — a song
  10. cold — not warm
  11. branch — of a bank
  12. court — of a king
  13. track — a path
  14. nail — for a hammer
  15. nail — on a finger
  16. rest — a break
  17. nail — for a hammer
  18. branch — of a tree
  19. court — of law
  20. patient — a sick person
  21. patient — calm and waiting
  22. court — for sport
  23. track — to keep track
  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