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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's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  2. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  3. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  4. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  5. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  6. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  7. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  8. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  9. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  10. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  11. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  12. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  13. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  14. The King held a masked ________________.
  15. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  16. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  17. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  18. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  19. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  20. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  21. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  22. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  23. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  24. We had a fire ________________ at school today.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a music group
  2. patient — a sick person
  3. band — a ring
  4. ball — a round shape
  5. band — a rubber band
  6. fine — all right
  7. patient — calm and waiting
  8. fine — high quality
  9. fine — a penalty
  10. stem — to come from
  11. stem — of a plant
  12. current — of water
  13. current — happening now
  14. ball — a dance
  15. stem — a stem cell
  16. patient — a sick person
  17. shower — rain
  18. ball — a great time
  19. drill — the tool
  20. drill — army training
  21. shower — a meteor shower
  22. current — electric
  23. shower — to wash
  24. drill — a practice

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