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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 120 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 · drill · clip · hand · branch · squash · bound · object

  1. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  2. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  3. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  4. That was ________________ to happen.
  5. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  6. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  7. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  8. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  9. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  10. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  11. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  12. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  13. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  14. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  15. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  16. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  17. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  18. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  19. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  20. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  21. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  22. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  23. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  24. We are ________________ to obey laws.

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

Answer key

  1. drill — the tool
  2. hand — in cards
  3. branch — a division
  4. bound — certain
  5. hand — part of the body
  6. object — a thing
  7. object — an aim
  8. clip — to cut
  9. hand — help
  10. patient — calm and waiting
  11. bound — tied together
  12. patient — a sick person
  13. squash — to crush
  14. patient — a sick person
  15. drill — a practice
  16. branch — of a bank
  17. clip — for paper
  18. branch — of a tree
  19. squash — the vegetable
  20. squash — the sport
  21. object — to protest
  22. clip — a video
  23. drill — army training
  24. bound — obliged

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