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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 116 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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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  2. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  3. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  4. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  5. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  6. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  7. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  8. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  9. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  10. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  11. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  12. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  13. Don't do anything ________________.
  14. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  15. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  16. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  17. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  18. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a rubber band
  2. patient — a sick person
  3. stem — to come from
  4. rash — on the skin
  5. fine — all right
  6. capital — money
  7. capital — a city
  8. band — a music group
  9. fine — a penalty
  10. patient — calm and waiting
  11. fine — high quality
  12. capital — a big letter
  13. rash — hasty
  14. band — a ring
  15. stem — of a plant
  16. patient — a sick person
  17. stem — a stem cell
  18. rash — a series

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