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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: mug · chest · patient · jam · saw · dip · branch · game

  1. She's very handy with a ________________.
  2. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  3. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  4. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  5. Where did you ________________ them?
  6. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  7. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  8. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  9. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  10. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  11. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  12. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  13. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  14. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  15. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  16. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  17. He works in a ________________ mill.
  18. That was a fun ________________.
  19. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  20. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  21. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  22. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  23. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  24. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.

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

Answer key

  1. saw — the tool
  2. game — wild animals
  3. dip — to sink
  4. jam — to spread on bread
  5. mug — to rob
  6. chest — of your body
  7. saw — past of 'see'
  8. branch — a division
  9. mug — a cup
  10. branch — of a bank
  11. game — a kind of play
  12. dip — a sauce
  13. jam — in traffic
  14. branch — of a tree
  15. patient — a sick person
  16. dip — to dunk
  17. saw — the tool
  18. game — a match
  19. patient — calm and waiting
  20. chest — of your body
  21. patient — a sick person
  22. mug — a face
  23. jam — a tight spot
  24. chest — a box

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