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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: field · deal · wind · branch · patient · land · mark · saw

  1. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  2. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  3. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  4. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  5. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  6. She's very handy with a ________________.
  7. When are we going to ________________?
  8. He works in a ________________ mill.
  9. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  10. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  11. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  12. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  13. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  14. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  15. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  16. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  17. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  18. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  19. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  20. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  21. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  22. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  23. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  24. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.

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

Answer key

  1. branch — of a tree
  2. mark — a trace
  3. patient — a sick person
  4. mark — to pay attention
  5. mark — a grade
  6. saw — the tool
  7. land — to come down
  8. saw — the tool
  9. deal — an agreement
  10. saw — past of 'see'
  11. wind — to turn a key
  12. branch — a division
  13. land — ground
  14. wind — moving air
  15. field — for sport
  16. patient — a sick person
  17. field — a subject
  18. branch — of a bank
  19. deal — a big deal
  20. deal — to handle
  21. wind — moving air
  22. field — farmland
  23. land — a country
  24. patient — calm and waiting

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