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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: coach · last · land · rush · branch · patient · band · snap

  1. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  2. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  3. False peace will not ________________.
  4. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  5. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  6. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  7. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  8. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  9. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  10. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  11. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  12. That must've been a ________________.
  13. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  14. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  15. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  16. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  17. Have you met the new head ________________?
  18. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  19. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  20. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  21. When are we going to ________________?
  22. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  23. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  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. snap — to snap out of it
  2. coach — pulled by horses
  3. last — to go on
  4. coach — a trainer
  5. patient — calm and waiting
  6. snap — to speak sharply
  7. last — finally
  8. branch — of a tree
  9. land — ground
  10. snap — to click
  11. land — a country
  12. rush — a thrill
  13. rush — to hurry
  14. band — a ring
  15. rush — hurry
  16. branch — a division
  17. coach — a trainer
  18. band — a rubber band
  19. band — a music group
  20. patient — a sick person
  21. land — to come down
  22. branch — of a bank
  23. last — final
  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