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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: band · chest · branch · roll · patient · stem · straw · land

  1. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  2. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  3. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  4. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  5. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  6. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  7. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  8. When are we going to ________________?
  9. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  10. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  11. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  12. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  13. We're on a ________________ here.
  14. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  15. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  16. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  17. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  18. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  19. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  20. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  21. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  22. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  23. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  24. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. chest — of your body
  2. chest — of your body
  3. patient — calm and waiting
  4. land — a country
  5. stem — a stem cell
  6. patient — a sick person
  7. band — a music group
  8. land — to come down
  9. stem — to come from
  10. straw — to clutch at straws
  11. branch — a division
  12. band — a ring
  13. roll — on a roll
  14. straw — dry grass
  15. stem — of a plant
  16. branch — of a bank
  17. straw — a straw man
  18. band — a rubber band
  19. roll — a cake
  20. branch — of a tree
  21. patient — a sick person
  22. chest — a box
  23. roll — a list
  24. land — ground

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