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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: bat · cabinet · land · temple · straw · branch · patient · bulb

  1. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  2. I've got to change the light ________________.
  3. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  4. What do you think of the new ________________?
  5. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  6. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  7. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  8. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  9. The light ________________ burned out.
  10. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  11. When are we going to ________________?
  12. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  13. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  14. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  15. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  16. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  17. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  18. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  19. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  20. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  21. When was this ________________ built?
  22. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  23. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  24. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.

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

Answer key

  1. branch — of a bank
  2. bulb — for light
  3. temple — a place of worship
  4. cabinet — ministers
  5. bat — in an idiom
  6. bat — the animal
  7. bat — for baseball
  8. straw — to clutch at straws
  9. bulb — for light
  10. patient — calm and waiting
  11. land — to come down
  12. land — a country
  13. branch — of a tree
  14. bulb — of a plant
  15. cabinet — ministers
  16. straw — a straw man
  17. straw — dry grass
  18. land — ground
  19. cabinet — a cupboard
  20. branch — a division
  21. temple — a place of worship
  22. patient — a sick person
  23. temple — side of the head
  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