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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 124 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. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  3. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  4. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  5. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  6. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  7. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  8. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  9. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  10. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  11. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  12. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  13. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  14. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  15. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  16. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  17. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  18. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  19. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  20. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  21. David sat on the ________________.
  22. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  23. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  24. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.

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

Answer key

  1. patient — a sick person
  2. band — a music group
  3. rule — government
  4. leaves — to go away
  5. patient — a sick person
  6. band — a ring
  7. rule — to rule out
  8. band — a rubber band
  9. hand — help
  10. swing — music
  11. swing — in golf
  12. patient — calm and waiting
  13. bat — the animal
  14. firm — decided
  15. firm — steady
  16. hand — in cards
  17. firm — a company
  18. rule — a law
  19. leaves — lets stay
  20. leaves — of a tree
  21. swing — to play on
  22. bat — in an idiom
  23. hand — part of the body
  24. bat — for 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