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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: patient · hand · branch · scale · racket · coach · rash · kid

  1. Have you met the new head ________________?
  2. Don't do anything ________________.
  3. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  4. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  5. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  6. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  7. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  8. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  9. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  10. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  11. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  12. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  13. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  14. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  15. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  16. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  17. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  18. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  19. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  20. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  21. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  22. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  23. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  24. Do you need a ________________ with that?

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

Answer key

  1. coach — a trainer
  2. rash — hasty
  3. coach — pulled by horses
  4. branch — a division
  5. patient — a sick person
  6. racket — for tennis
  7. kid — to tease
  8. rash — on the skin
  9. branch — of a tree
  10. patient — a sick person
  11. coach — a trainer
  12. scale — in music
  13. rash — a series
  14. kid — child
  15. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  16. scale — for weighing
  17. racket — a loud noise
  18. hand — in cards
  19. branch — of a bank
  20. hand — part of the body
  21. racket — for tennis
  22. patient — calm and waiting
  23. scale — size or range
  24. hand — help

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