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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 120 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. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  3. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  4. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  5. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  6. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  7. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  8. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  9. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  10. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  11. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  12. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  13. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  14. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  15. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  16. Have you met the new head ________________?
  17. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  18. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  19. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  20. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  21. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  22. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  23. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  24. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a ring
  2. march — the month
  3. mine — belonging to me
  4. present — a gift
  5. patient — a sick person
  6. root — of a word
  7. march — the month
  8. tear — from crying
  9. present — there
  10. coach — pulled by horses
  11. band — a music group
  12. patient — a sick person
  13. root — of a plant
  14. tear — from crying
  15. coach — a trainer
  16. coach — a trainer
  17. march — music
  18. tear — to rip
  19. band — a rubber band
  20. mine — an explosive
  21. patient — calm and waiting
  22. root — the cause
  23. mine — for digging
  24. present — the time now

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