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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 · branch · bass · nail · key · game · cold · last

  1. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  2. The ________________ went through the wall.
  3. False peace will not ________________.
  4. That was a fun ________________.
  5. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  6. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  7. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  8. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  9. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  10. This piece is in a major ________________.
  11. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  12. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  13. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  14. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  15. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  16. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  17. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  18. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  19. The water is too ________________.
  20. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  21. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  22. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  23. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  24. At ________________, we arrived at the village.

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

Answer key

  1. branch — of a tree
  2. nail — for a hammer
  3. last — to go on
  4. game — a match
  5. key — the most important part
  6. cold — the Cold War
  7. cold — an illness
  8. branch — of a bank
  9. patient — a sick person
  10. key — in music
  11. nail — for a hammer
  12. patient — a sick person
  13. nail — on a finger
  14. patient — calm and waiting
  15. bass — the fish
  16. branch — a division
  17. game — a kind of play
  18. game — wild animals
  19. cold — not warm
  20. bass — low music
  21. key — for a lock
  22. last — final
  23. bass — the instrument
  24. last — finally

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