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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: hand · press · branch · wound · cabinet · rule · patient · field

  1. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  2. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  3. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  4. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  5. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  6. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  7. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  8. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  9. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  10. Did you ________________ the button?
  11. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  12. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  13. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  14. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  15. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  16. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  17. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  18. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  19. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  20. What do you think of the new ________________?
  21. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  22. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  23. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  24. This looks like a gunshot ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. hand — help
  2. wound — an injury
  3. rule — a law
  4. branch — of a tree
  5. rule — to rule out
  6. patient — a sick person
  7. press — newspapers
  8. branch — of a bank
  9. field — a subject
  10. press — to push
  11. branch — a division
  12. field — farmland
  13. patient — calm and waiting
  14. press — a publisher
  15. wound — past of 'wind'
  16. hand — in cards
  17. hand — part of the body
  18. field — for sport
  19. cabinet — ministers
  20. cabinet — ministers
  21. rule — government
  22. patient — a sick person
  23. cabinet — a cupboard
  24. wound — an injury

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