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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 still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  2. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  3. When are we going to ________________?
  4. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  5. Did you ________________ the button?
  6. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  7. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  8. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  9. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  10. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  11. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  12. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  13. I'll be taking the ________________.
  14. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  15. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  16. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  17. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  18. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  19. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  20. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  21. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  22. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  23. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  24. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a ring
  2. band — a music group
  3. land — to come down
  4. patient — calm and waiting
  5. press — to push
  6. land — ground
  7. wake — a trail
  8. patient — a sick person
  9. tube — a container
  10. wake — to stop sleeping
  11. shower — to wash
  12. shower — rain
  13. tube — the underground
  14. bass — low music
  15. press — a publisher
  16. press — newspapers
  17. band — a rubber band
  18. bass — the fish
  19. tube — in a tire
  20. land — a country
  21. wake — before a funeral
  22. bass — the instrument
  23. patient — a sick person
  24. shower — a meteor shower

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