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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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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. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  2. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  3. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  4. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  5. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  6. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  7. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  8. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  9. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  10. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  11. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  12. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  13. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  14. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  15. The ball is in your ________________.
  16. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  17. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  18. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  19. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  20. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  21. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  22. We're on a ________________ here.
  23. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  24. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.

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

Answer key

  1. patient — calm and waiting
  2. tear — from crying
  3. band — a music group
  4. branch — of a bank
  5. roll — a cake
  6. band — a ring
  7. court — of law
  8. bank — of a river
  9. tear — to rip
  10. patient — a sick person
  11. tear — from crying
  12. band — a rubber band
  13. bank — for money
  14. branch — a division
  15. court — for sport
  16. roll — a list
  17. bank — for money
  18. patient — a sick person
  19. branch — of a tree
  20. court — of a king
  21. straw — dry grass
  22. roll — on a roll
  23. straw — to clutch at straws
  24. straw — a straw man

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