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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. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  2. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  3. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  4. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  5. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  6. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  7. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  8. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  9. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  10. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  11. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  12. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  13. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  14. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  15. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  16. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  17. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  18. False peace will not ________________.
  19. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  20. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  21. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  22. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  23. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  24. That must've been a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a ring
  2. fan — a supporter
  3. lie — an untruth
  4. rush — hurry
  5. shower — to wash
  6. lie — to recline
  7. patient — a sick person
  8. fan — a supporter
  9. patient — calm and waiting
  10. shower — a meteor shower
  11. last — final
  12. lie — an untruth
  13. last — finally
  14. present — a gift
  15. present — there
  16. shower — rain
  17. patient — a sick person
  18. last — to go on
  19. band — a music group
  20. fan — to cool the air
  21. band — a rubber band
  22. present — the time now
  23. rush — to hurry
  24. rush — a thrill

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