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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: roll · game · squash · lean · patient · branch · hide · rule

  1. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  2. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  3. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  4. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  5. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  6. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  7. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  8. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  9. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  10. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  11. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  12. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  13. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  14. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  15. We're on a ________________ here.
  16. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  17. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  18. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  19. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  20. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  21. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  22. That was a fun ________________.
  23. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  24. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. game — wild animals
  2. hide — animal skin
  3. lean — to bend
  4. rule — government
  5. hide — to keep secret
  6. squash — the vegetable
  7. roll — a cake
  8. branch — of a bank
  9. rule — a law
  10. roll — a list
  11. rule — to rule out
  12. lean — thin
  13. patient — calm and waiting
  14. branch — of a tree
  15. roll — on a roll
  16. patient — a sick person
  17. squash — to crush
  18. hide — to keep secret
  19. branch — a division
  20. lean — to rest against
  21. squash — the sport
  22. game — a match
  23. game — a kind of play
  24. patient — a sick person

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