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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 120 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.

Make a worksheet

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: hand · branch · fork · fan · patient · prune · chair · row

  1. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  2. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  3. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  4. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  5. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  6. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  7. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  8. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  9. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  10. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  11. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  12. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  13. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  14. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  15. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  16. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  17. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  18. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  19. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  20. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  21. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  22. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  23. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  24. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.

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

Answer key

  1. patient — calm and waiting
  2. fork — a garden tool
  3. patient — a sick person
  4. fan — to cool the air
  5. fan — a supporter
  6. chair — to sit on
  7. patient — a sick person
  8. hand — part of the body
  9. fan — a supporter
  10. fork — in a road
  11. branch — of a bank
  12. prune — to trim
  13. branch — of a tree
  14. branch — a division
  15. chair — a professorship
  16. prune — the fruit
  17. chair — a leader
  18. hand — in cards
  19. row — a quarrel
  20. hand — help
  21. row — a line
  22. row — to paddle
  23. fork — to eat with
  24. prune — to trim

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