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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 116 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 · key · rush · spring · trunk · rock · branch · last

  1. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  2. False peace will not ________________.
  3. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  4. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  5. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  6. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  7. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  8. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  9. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  10. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  11. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  12. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  13. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  14. This piece is in a major ________________.
  15. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  16. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  17. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  18. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  19. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  20. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  21. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  22. That must've been a ________________.
  23. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  24. The flowers bloom in the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. key — for a lock
  2. last — to go on
  3. key — the most important part
  4. rock — music
  5. last — finally
  6. branch — of a tree
  7. rush — hurry
  8. branch — a division
  9. spring — a coil
  10. rock — a stone
  11. trunk — of a car
  12. rush — to hurry
  13. rock — to move gently
  14. key — in music
  15. patient — a sick person
  16. patient — a sick person
  17. trunk — of an elephant
  18. last — final
  19. trunk — of a tree
  20. branch — of a bank
  21. patient — calm and waiting
  22. rush — a thrill
  23. spring — of water
  24. spring — the season

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