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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: fall · patient · mine · squash · branch · straw · land · drill

  1. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  2. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  3. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  4. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  5. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  6. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  7. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  8. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  9. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  10. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  11. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  12. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  13. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  14. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  15. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  16. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  17. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  18. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  19. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  20. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  21. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  22. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  23. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  24. When are we going to ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. squash — the vegetable
  2. branch — a division
  3. fall — the season
  4. patient — a sick person
  5. land — ground
  6. drill — the tool
  7. drill — a practice
  8. straw — to clutch at straws
  9. mine — an explosive
  10. squash — the sport
  11. patient — a sick person
  12. branch — of a tree
  13. squash — to crush
  14. straw — a straw man
  15. land — a country
  16. mine — for digging
  17. patient — calm and waiting
  18. drill — army training
  19. mine — belonging to me
  20. straw — dry grass
  21. fall — to drop
  22. branch — of a bank
  23. fall — to drop
  24. land — to come down

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