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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: lie · mine · patient · trunk · coach · spring · file · branch

  1. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  2. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  3. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  4. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  5. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  6. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  7. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  8. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  9. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  10. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  11. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  12. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  13. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  14. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  15. Have you met the new head ________________?
  16. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  17. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  18. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  19. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  20. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  21. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  22. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  23. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  24. Biology is a ________________ of science.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — belonging to me
  2. lie — an untruth
  3. file — a document
  4. spring — of water
  5. trunk — of an elephant
  6. patient — a sick person
  7. coach — a trainer
  8. branch — of a bank
  9. coach — pulled by horses
  10. file — a line of people
  11. mine — an explosive
  12. patient — a sick person
  13. branch — of a tree
  14. trunk — of a tree
  15. coach — a trainer
  16. spring — the season
  17. trunk — of a car
  18. mine — for digging
  19. patient — calm and waiting
  20. lie — to recline
  21. spring — a coil
  22. file — a tool
  23. lie — an untruth
  24. branch — a division

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