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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: firm · net · nail · field · bat · patient · branch · prune

  1. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  2. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  3. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  4. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  5. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  6. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  7. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  8. The ________________ went through the wall.
  9. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  10. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  11. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  12. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  13. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  14. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  15. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  16. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  17. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  18. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  19. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  20. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  21. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  22. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  23. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  24. What was your ________________ profit last year?

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

Answer key

  1. branch — a division
  2. nail — on a finger
  3. nail — for a hammer
  4. patient — a sick person
  5. branch — of a bank
  6. bat — the animal
  7. patient — calm and waiting
  8. nail — for a hammer
  9. net — in sport
  10. firm — decided
  11. prune — the fruit
  12. firm — steady
  13. prune — to trim
  14. field — for sport
  15. net — for catching
  16. field — a subject
  17. field — farmland
  18. prune — to trim
  19. branch — of a tree
  20. bat — for baseball
  21. bat — in an idiom
  22. firm — a company
  23. patient — a sick person
  24. net — after costs

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