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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. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  2. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  3. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  4. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  5. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  6. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  7. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  8. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  9. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  10. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  11. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  12. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  13. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  14. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  15. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  16. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  17. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  18. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  19. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  20. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  21. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  22. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  23. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  24. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.

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

Answer key

  1. patient — a sick person
  2. kid — to tease
  3. wound — an injury
  4. band — a rubber band
  5. bat — for baseball
  6. club — a group
  7. wax — in the ear
  8. wax — to grow
  9. band — a music group
  10. band — a ring
  11. fine — a penalty
  12. bat — the animal
  13. kid — child
  14. wound — an injury
  15. bat — in an idiom
  16. fine — all right
  17. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  18. fine — high quality
  19. patient — calm and waiting
  20. wax — for sculpting
  21. club — for dancing
  22. club — for golf
  23. wound — past of 'wind'
  24. patient — a sick person

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