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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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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: board · kid · patient · branch · chest · object · wind · nail

  1. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  2. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  3. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  4. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  5. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  6. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  7. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  8. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  9. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  10. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  11. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  12. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  13. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  14. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  15. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  16. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  17. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  18. The ________________ went through the wall.
  19. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  20. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  21. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  22. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  23. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  24. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.

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

Answer key

  1. nail — on a finger
  2. chest — a box
  3. board — a flat piece
  4. wind — moving air
  5. patient — a sick person
  6. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  7. patient — calm and waiting
  8. nail — for a hammer
  9. board — to get on
  10. wind — to turn a key
  11. chest — of your body
  12. patient — a sick person
  13. branch — of a tree
  14. wind — moving air
  15. chest — of your body
  16. kid — to tease
  17. object — to protest
  18. nail — for a hammer
  19. branch — a division
  20. kid — child
  21. board — a committee
  22. object — an aim
  23. object — a thing
  24. branch — of a bank

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