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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. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  2. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  3. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  4. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  5. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  6. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  7. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  8. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  9. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  10. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  11. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  12. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  13. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  14. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  15. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  16. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  17. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  18. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  19. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  20. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  21. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  22. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  23. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  24. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. club — a group
  2. patient — a sick person
  3. band — a ring
  4. club — for dancing
  5. tear — to rip
  6. patient — a sick person
  7. kick — a thrill
  8. kick — in football
  9. field — a subject
  10. tear — from crying
  11. hand — in cards
  12. bank — for money
  13. hand — part of the body
  14. bank — for money
  15. patient — calm and waiting
  16. bank — of a river
  17. tear — from crying
  18. band — a rubber band
  19. club — for golf
  20. kick — with a leg
  21. field — for sport
  22. field — farmland
  23. hand — help
  24. band — a music group

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