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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: nail · prune · land · fan · file · straw · branch · patient

  1. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  2. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  3. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  4. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  5. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  6. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  7. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  8. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  9. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  10. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  11. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  12. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  13. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  14. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  15. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  16. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  17. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  18. The ________________ went through the wall.
  19. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  20. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  21. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  22. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  23. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  24. When are we going to ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. straw — dry grass
  2. branch — of a bank
  3. branch — a division
  4. fan — a supporter
  5. prune — to trim
  6. fan — a supporter
  7. fan — to cool the air
  8. land — ground
  9. straw — a straw man
  10. branch — of a tree
  11. file — a tool
  12. land — a country
  13. file — a line of people
  14. file — a document
  15. patient — a sick person
  16. patient — a sick person
  17. prune — the fruit
  18. nail — for a hammer
  19. straw — to clutch at straws
  20. prune — to trim
  21. patient — calm and waiting
  22. nail — for a hammer
  23. nail — on a finger
  24. land — to come down

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