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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 · wax · drill · branch · scale · prune · hide · field

  1. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  2. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  3. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  4. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  5. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  6. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  7. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  8. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  9. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  10. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  11. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  12. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  13. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  14. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  15. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  16. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  17. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  18. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  19. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  20. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  21. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  22. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  23. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  24. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.

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

Answer key

  1. patient — calm and waiting
  2. prune — to trim
  3. wax — in the ear
  4. drill — army training
  5. patient — a sick person
  6. branch — of a tree
  7. hide — to keep secret
  8. branch — a division
  9. branch — of a bank
  10. wax — for sculpting
  11. scale — size or range
  12. field — farmland
  13. scale — for weighing
  14. field — for sport
  15. hide — to keep secret
  16. prune — to trim
  17. wax — to grow
  18. scale — in music
  19. prune — the fruit
  20. drill — the tool
  21. drill — a practice
  22. field — a subject
  23. patient — a sick person
  24. hide — animal skin

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