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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. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  2. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  3. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  4. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  5. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  6. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  7. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  8. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  9. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  10. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  11. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  12. How do you ________________ your surname?
  13. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  14. The water is too ________________.
  15. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  16. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  17. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  18. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  19. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  20. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  21. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  22. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  23. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  24. He is an ace ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. patient — calm and waiting
  2. fan — a supporter
  3. pitcher — a jug
  4. pitcher — a jug
  5. patient — a sick person
  6. spell — a short time
  7. firm — decided
  8. band — a rubber band
  9. band — a music group
  10. bank — of a river
  11. fan — to cool the air
  12. spell — letters
  13. spell — magic
  14. cold — not warm
  15. bank — for money
  16. patient — a sick person
  17. band — a ring
  18. cold — the Cold War
  19. fan — a supporter
  20. bank — for money
  21. firm — a company
  22. firm — steady
  23. cold — an illness
  24. pitcher — in baseball

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