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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 · bound · spring · arm · branch · lean · rush

  1. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  2. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  3. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  4. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  5. That must've been a ________________.
  6. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  7. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  8. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  9. My father caught me by the ________________.
  10. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  11. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  12. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  13. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  14. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  15. That was ________________ to happen.
  16. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  17. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  18. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  19. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  20. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  21. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  22. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  23. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  24. The flowers bloom in the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — a coil
  2. branch — a division
  3. lean — to rest against
  4. branch — of a bank
  5. rush — a thrill
  6. patient — a sick person
  7. lean — to bend
  8. patient — a sick person
  9. arm — part of the body
  10. bound — obliged
  11. rush — hurry
  12. rush — to hurry
  13. hand — help
  14. patient — calm and waiting
  15. bound — certain
  16. hand — in cards
  17. arm — part of the body
  18. arm — a part of something
  19. bound — tied together
  20. hand — part of the body
  21. lean — thin
  22. branch — of a tree
  23. spring — of water
  24. spring — the season

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